The Wolf, the Dog, and the Flower
by My Little Margie
Summary: "It would only be the three of them and their old souls, gray hair, and wrinkle lines there to remind them they could never get back the fearless youth they once had." Marianne Rose Lupin used to be married to Sirius Black, and when Black escapes from Azkaban the past comes knocking. Sirius/OC/Remus Polyamory! No love triangles, 3rd to 7th book. And did I mention polyamory?
1. Chapter 1

Hadrian Ables was nervous; there was no other way to put it. This was his first _real_ assignment as an auror, and he was terrified that he would cock it up. Of course, he did have two other very experienced wizards with him, a middle aged witch named Belinda Mendelsohn and top auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, but he still couldn't help feeling that how he reacted today would define the rest of his career, as he had purposefully volunteered to take the case. He ran over the details of the case again in his head.

It had been mere hours after the announcement that the mass murderer Sirius Black had escaped Azkaban when Shacklebolt had presented the assignment. "It's fairly straightforward," he had said, "When Black went to Azkaban he left behind a wife, Marianne; Rose to her friends. She's a sweet girl, I've met her before, and was in no way connected with the murders her husband committed."

One of Hadrian's mates raised his hand. "How can you be sure, sir?"

"Because she's a muggle," he answered calmly, shocking the room into silence.

Something immediately rubbed Hadrian the wrong way about the statement. He-who-must-not-be-named had been staunchly against all things muggle, and it didn't make sense that his number one supporter would be married to one.

"The task," Shacklebolt continued, "would be to go and inform her of Black's escape and search the premises for any sign of him, though I doubt he'll be there, as she's since remarried. This is the part where it gets complicated. I don't expect any trouble from the husband, but he _has_ assaulted aurors in the past, and I won't fully disregard the possibility. I also feel it my responsibility to warn you that her current husband is a werewolf, and may get territorial when we enter his home."

A shudder ran through the gathered aurors, and whispers erupted. Just last month one of their top aurors was killed in a werewolf-related disturbance. His body had been ripped to shreds, and the image still hung in the minds of his coworkers.

"I will state again though," Shacklebolt reiterated, "that I do not expect trouble from the husband and I highly doubt Black will be hiding there. We'll just walk in, ask some questions, do a quick once-over of the house and leave. It will probably only take a couple hours, maybe less. Now, I'll personally be going on this one, and I'd like two of you to come with me, preferably people with knowledge of werewolves or muggles."

Hadrian looked around; no one seemed to be volunteering so he did some quick calculations in his head. He didn't think the full moon would happen for another week, and though werewolves were resistant of magic even in human form, he reasoned three aurors should be able to take one out without a lot of difficulty. While he ran over the variables in his head, Belinda Mendelsohn raised her hand and said in an only slightly shaking voice, "I'll go."

Auror Mendelsohn usually didn't go into field work anymore, as she had an old war wound and preferred paperwork anyway, but she was currently writing a book about muggles, and was keen to interact with them whenever her job allowed. Emboldened by Mendelsohn, Hadrian raised his hand and said the same. Shacklebolt raised his eyebrows at him, but when he spoke, he was not judgmental.

"Auror Abels, what makes you want to take this job? This would be your first venture into the field, yes?"

Hadrian nodded, but spoke as confidently as he could, "I did my N.E.W.T. Essay for history of magic on the history of werewolves, and got an outstanding."

Shacklebolt's eyebrows lowered, and he nodded, looking satisfied. "That suits me. Aurors Mendelsohn and Abels, meet me in my office in fifteen minutes; the rest of you, back to work. The minister wants Black caught as soon as possible, and so do I."

So now Hadrian was walking toward the little house that the couple occupied, trying to swallow the rock that had settled in his throat.

The house was in the countryside, and the nearest neighbors were a mile away, making it a good place for a werewolf to settle down. Mendelsohn had suggested that they apparate a quarter mile away from the house, so as not to startle the muggle, and so the three aurors walked down the lane, not talking to each other. Hadrian wished that his heart would stop beating so loudly, as he was sure that his companions would hear it, but he couldn't help it, he had never actually met a werewolf or a muggle before, and was unsure what to expect.

Finally, they rounded a small corner and came face to face with the little house. It was painted a peeling yellow, and flowers blossomed plentifully in the many flowerbeds surrounding it. It was not the flowerbeds they were interested in, however, but the couple sitting in front of them.

They were already looking up at the approaching aurors, expecting and wary looks upon their faces. Typically, Hadrian would have found this strange, but, considering the man's affliction, Hadrian assumed he had smelled them and informed his wife of their coming. The man appeared to have been reading The Daily Prophet, as it was spread out before him, and judging by the dirt on the muggle's hands and knees, she had been gardening. Now that they were able to see the aurors, the pair stood up.

They were utterly unlike anything that Hadrian had expected.

The man was tall, at least 6'3", and he had scars littering every inch of skin that Hadrian could see, but was wearing brown slacks and a white button up shirt, rolled up at the sleeves. He supposed it was prejudiced, but he hadn't expected to meet a werewolf wearing casual business attire. The rest of the werewolf was also surprising. He had brown hair streaked with gray, laugh lines, a large nose, and handsome mustaches, giving him the appearance of a kindly professor or favorite uncle, but his strong jaw was clenched and his amber eyes were guarded. Hadrian realized with a flash it was because he was _scared_ of them.

He switched his gaze to the muggle woman, and suddenly understood why Black had defied his beliefs to be with her; she was _ethereal_. Her hair hung in soft blonde curls that fell just past her chin, framing her upturned nose, plush lips, and dark brown eyes. What was truly astonishing about her, however, were the tattoos that covered the top half of both her arms, tree branches that magically swayed as though by a breeze, occasionally punctuated by a tattooed caterpillar inching along or a bird cleaning its feathers. She stood short next to her husband, not quite reaching his shoulder, and Hadrian was reminded of the forest fairies his mother used to speak of in his bedtime stories.

Surreptitiously, she placed her hand on her husband's arm, stopping him from reaching toward his wand, and smiled, revealing pearly white teeth.

"Kingsley!" she exclaimed, and the hard line in her husband's jaw disappeared when he realized she knew their unannounced visitors. "Kingsley Shacklebolt," she reiterated, stepping forward to shake his hand, her green sundress swishing with the movement. "I haven't seen you in years! How are you?"

Hadrian was surprised to hear an American accent but Shacklebolt simply sighed and reached forward to shake her hand. "I could definitely be better. I'm afraid I'm not here for just a social call. Maybe we better take this inside. Somewhere where you can sit down."

The smile on her face slowly slipped off and she took her hand out of his. "Is this about Remus?" she asked, her once butter soft voice turning to steel. The werewolf in question curled his fingers around the wand in his pocket and Hadrian saw Belinda go for hers.

"This has nothing to do with your husband or his condition," he said, before Shacklebolt had a chance to, "In fact, we're only here to ask _you_ a few questions, Mrs. Lupin.

"Mr. Lupin, may we be allowed inside your house?" he added, remembering that werewolves preferred to be asked before you entered their territory. A flit of a smile appeared on the werewolf's face, as though he knew Hadrian was trying to play him, but he nodded and gently put his hand on his wife's back, urging her forward before following her, shielding her from any possible attack with his large body as she opened the door and stepped inside.

The inside of the house was again a surprise. Though both the house and the furniture were old and secondhand, everything was clean and well-cared for; the floral wallpaper with filled bookshelves leaning against it and the mantle littered with photographs, both wizard and muggle. Hadrian noted that though Mrs. Lupin had been married to Black for three years he was in none of the pictures.

"You have a lovely home," Mendelsohn commented, the aurors taking a seat on the sofa and the Lupins sitting on the loveseat. Apparently this was the right thing to say, as Mrs. Lupin beamed and started talking. "Thank you, dear. It was a wreck when we found it, hadn't been lived in in years, but magic, as you know, is just so handy, and Remus has a specialty for fixing things. Of course, he's very strong too, and I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. We did things my way when he didn't know the spell."

Belinda looked intrigued for the first time since arriving, but Shacklebolt was quick to change the conversation. "Unfortunately, we are not here to talk about your house. ...I am very sorry to tell you this, but there's simply no way around it. Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban."

Whatever the couple had been expecting them to say, it had certainly not been that. What surprised Hadrian, however, was the way that they both reacted. Mr. Lupin sprung up immediately from the loveseat and began pacing almost violently, running his hands through his hair. Mrs. Lupin though, stayed seated, looking as though the head auror had just said a particularly distasteful joke.

"That's impossible," she explained to them, "it's impossible to escape Azkaban, everyone knows that. Nobody's done it before."

"Regardless," Shacklebolt continued, keeping a wary eye on the pacing werewolf, "He has done it."

"What's he after?" Mr. Lupin asked, abruptly stopping, "Is he coming after her? Is that why you're here?"

Shacklebolt shook his head. "No, we think he's going to Hogwarts. We think he's going after Harry Potter."

The couple again acted strangely, with Mr Lupin instantly calming and his wife's eyes bulging rather unattractively. "He's going after Harry?" she exclaimed, the color leaving her face, "But he's just a child! Why the hell are you _here?_ You should be with Harry!"

"Rose," Remus soothed, "It's going to be alright; there's no safer place on earth than Hogwarts. Harry should be safe there, even Voldemort feared Dumbledore."

The three aurors shivered at the carelessly disregarded name, but Rose did not flinch. "He escaped Azkaban though!" she protested, "If he can slip by that many dementors I'm sure that he can get by one wizard!"

Shacklebolt shook his head. "Potter is currently being heavily guarded, and if Black is still free by September, which we are working our hardest to make sure _does not_ happen, then Hogwarts will have the highest security possible."

Mrs Lupin still looked shaky by the end of Shacklebolt's statement, but Mr Lupin's eyes had narrowed, and he was staring at them suspiciously. "You're not here because he's coming after Rose, you think we're housing him. That's why you're here! How dare you! How dare you come into my home and upset my wife simply because you think we would stoop low enough to help a convicted criminal! One that killed my best friends no less! Get out! Get out of my _home_!"

His last word had dissolved into a snarl and Hadrian could see Belinda go for her wand, but before anyone could make a move he stood up slowly, his hands in front of him and his eyes downcast; signs of submission.

"Think about it Mr Lupin," he said, "Sirius Black is a dangerous man, and I have no doubt that you are too. Do you truly think that we would only bring three aurors to face down the two of you?"

"The boy is right," Mrs. Lupin said before her husband could respond, reaching up to grab his wand arm, "Kingsley has seen you both fight, he knows they would be dead if they went against you."

Out of the corner of his eye Hadrian saw Mr. Lupin relax slightly, and chanced to meet his eyes. Mr. Lupin was staring at him ferociously, and it took all of Hadrian's willpower not to look away.

"We're just here to ask your wife a few questions about him," he clarified, "Where he might be going, behaviors, patterns, that sort of thing. She did know him better than anybody. And, while she does that, we _would_ like to search your home. _But_ ," he added when the werewolf opened his mouth, "we will only do it with your permission, and it is only so we can rule it out with 100% certainty."

The werewolf did not look convinced, but before he opened his mouth his wife interlaced her hand with the one he had placed on her shoulder.

"Please, Remus, they're just doing their job. Let them look, for me if for nothing else."

Mr. Lupin did not look any less skeptical, but he softened when he looked at his wife, and finally he sighed.

"Alright," he agreed, "but I'll be following you, and it will be the woman that stays with Rose."

"Aye," Hadrian replied, "that's what we had planned."

"My name is Belinda Mendelsohn," Belinda told them, looking at the muggle instead of the werewolf, "and I'm an expert on muggles, I'm writing a book about them, so you'll be in good hands Mrs Lupin."

"I'm sure I will be," Mrs Lupin replied with a strained smile, "and please, call me Rose."

Mr Lupin nodded, seemingly satisfied, and unlaced his fingers from his wife's, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "Right, follow me," he told the two remaining aurors, and they headed into the kitchen.

Hadrian and his boss fruitlessly searched through the cupboards, cabinets, and even the muggle refrigerator, but there was no sign of Black, so they moved on to the dining room, the bathroom, the guest bedroom, and then finally the master bedroom, looking around in unnerving silence as the master of the house watched with unwavering eyes.

Though the rest of the house was charming, it was the couple's bedroom that truly had the most character. The bed was unmade with a thick handmade quilt thrown over it, and books were scattered everywhere, piled next to the bed, jammed into bookshelves, and tossed on the desk, which was stained eccentrically with different colors of ink. There were two bedside tables, one with a vase of daisies and the other with a pile of newspapers. There was a beautiful white fireplace with a mantlepiece filled with photographs as well, just like in the living room, and it was in one of these that Hadrian found a way to break the silence.

It was an old muggle photo of what Hadrian presumed was their wedding day. They were standing under an outdoor archway smiling at each other like they couldn't believe their luck. Mr Lupin had considerably less scars than he did now, and was clean shaven, with a muggle suit on, looking decades younger, though Hadrian assumed the picture could have only been ten years old. Rose, however, looked as though she had barely aged a day, though had perhaps gained a few freckles, and was wearing a beautiful white dress that went only to her knees, with a purple ribbon around her waist and a bouquet of purple roses in her hand, her veil pushed back from her face.

Hadrian noted with some interest that the neckline of the dress dipped to show scars running right below her collarbone, looking as though an animal had tried to attack her. Hadrian considered asking Mr Lupin if his wife was a werewolf too, but decided to go with a more tactful question, as Lupin seemed to have finally calmed down.

"How did you meet your wife, Mr Lupin?" he asked, trying to ignore Shacklebolt flattening himself to look under the bed. Hadrian was unsure if Lupin would look at this as an invasion of his privacy, but the werewolf discredited this idea by chuckling.

"It was quite like something out of a film. I was walking with three of my friends in London and I saw her heading towards us. She was so small and fairy-like, still is really, but she was wearing a spiked leather jacket and had this determined look in her eye and I just thought, 'this is her, this is the girl I'm going to marry.' ...Then, of course, she reached our group and kissed my best friend."

Hadrian laughed, and then cautiously asked, "Why do you think he was with her, if you don't mind me asking, was it to disguise himself or-"

"No," Lupin interrupted, "He loved her. There were a lot of things I questioned about him after we found out what traitorous _scum_ he was, but I never doubted that. She's just that sort of woman; you'd change everything you believe in just to see her smile at you. And when she says she loves you, well... there's no feeling like it in the world."

Lupin grinned at him and Hadrian thought back to when he first saw Marianne Lupin just an hour ago on the front lawn, looking for all the world like a fallen star. Hadrian decided that what Lupin said was probably true, and watched as the man in question dug out something from a drawer and handed it to him.

Hadrian looked down at the object in his hands and saw that it was a picture, a wizard one, of Rose and Black standing in front of Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor on Diagon Alley, laughing and kissing each other. Rose looked the same, if a bit younger, but Sirius Black looked like a totally different man.

In the wanted poster all the aurors had been shown, Black looked like a demon straight out of hell, with a skeleton frame and long, knotted hair that fell to his elbows, not to mention his rotting teeth, wild eyes, and laughter that looked like screaming. However, in the picture Hadrian was holding now Sirius Black was devilishly handsome, a healthy young man with shining black hair and a bad boy grin, with eyes looking at the now Mrs Lupin as though she were a drop of sunshine.

"She doesn't know that I know she still has it," Mr Lupin said, interrupting Hadrian's musings, "but I don't blame her; they were like fire when they were together, it was beautiful to watch, even though I was pining over her at the time."

"Well," Hadrian said, handing the picture back, "this whole situation worked out well for you then."

The wistfulness of Lupin's eyes suddenly turned to sharp anger, and he snatched the picture out of his hand.

"Three of my best friends died," he told Hadrian, "and the man I trusted most turned out to be a traitor. If that's your definition of _well_ I would hate to see your definition of bad."

"Right," Hadrian said, blushing and clearing his throat, "sorry. I wasn't thinking, this must be incredibly difficult for you."

Lupin stared hard for a minute, and then let out a sigh, putting the picture back in the drawer he had taken it from.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm usually not like this, but stress always makes me lash out. Now, I suppose you'll be wanting to see the cellar?"

"Yes," said Shacklebolt, startling Hadrian, who had almost forgotten he was there. Lupin nodded, gave another sigh, and lead them out of the bedroom, and out of the house.

The cellar was around the back of the house, and though the small home the Lupins kept looked like something out of a daydream, the cellar door looked like it was from a nightmare. A thick metal door in the ground was locked by at least eight heavy chains, which Lupin summoned the key for from his house. After unlocking the chains and door, he lit his wand and started down the wooden steps, his mouth in a grim line. Hadrian and Shacklebolt followed.

The cellar was unlike anything Hadrian had ever seen. What seemed to be furniture was torn up, wrecked, and chewed. Blood stains were splattered all over the walls and dirt floor, and it smelled as though a dead animal was rotting away there.

"Don't worry," Lupin said with a self-deprecating smile, "the blood's all mine."

Neither Hadrian nor Shacklebolt responded, and Hadrian started to look behind the broken furniture, trying hard not to throw up. When he was finished Shacklebolt did the finding spells he had done in every other room, and, when nothing came up, the two aurors quickly left, emerging into the warm summer air with Lupin right behind them.

While Lupin locked the chains again, Hadrian stared blankly into the distance, gut wrenching when he imagined Mr Lupin bidding goodbye to his wife and descending into the cellar, the kind Mrs Lupin locking the chains, them both knowing he would soon tear apart everything in the room, along with himself, and having to do the same thing a month later.

"I'm sorry," he told the werewolf when Lupin turned to face him, sadness welling in his chest, "I'm so sorry. I don't know how you do it."

Lupin smiled, the sort of sad smile that takes your breath away, and said, "It's alright, I've done it for over twenty years now, there's no need to be sorry."

"But I still am," Hadrian countered.

"Then I thank you for it," Lupin said. Then, turning toward Shacklebolt, he added, "If your department requires you to contact me again, I'd like it to be this young man that comes. If I have any say in it of course. Now, I'm to go see how Rose's holding up, you can follow if you like."

The three of them entered the house again and were greeted by the sight of Rose and Belinda on the loveseat together, holding cups of tea while the muggle tried to explain to the witch how televisions worked. Rose's face was red and blotchy, as though she had been crying, but she brightened when she saw her husband, and a tenseness Hadrian hadn't even realized Lupin had been holding disappeared when he saw his wife.

"Would it be alright if Belinda came over next week?" Rose asked her husband, "She's writing a book about muggles and she wants to write about wizard-muggle marriages. I've agreed to help her, but we can meet somewhere else if you like."

Mr Lupin shook his head. "Here is fine, just not on-"

"Wednesday, I know," Mrs Lupin finished, and Hadrian remembered that Wednesday was the full moon.

"Thank you for letting us into your home," Shacklebolt said as Mendelsohn stood and brushed off her robes, "It was good to see you Rose, sorry it was with such bad news."

"That's not your fault Kingsley,"

"But still." Shacklebolt countered, "And remember, if you remember anything or if Black tries to contact you-"

"I'll floo, or get Remus to apparate."

Shacklebolt nodded, and with three little pops, the aurors were gone.

Hope you like it! The chapters won't regularly be this long, but I'll try to update every week or so. The story will alternate between the books and flashbacks and will hopefully go from the third to seventh book. Reviews are appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

**London 1981**

Sirius Black was a wanderer. Even at Hogwarts he had snuck out at night or skipped class just to explore every nook and cranny the castle had to offer.

If he had gone to a psychiatrist, they would have told him it likely stemmed from his childhood, when his mother would lock him in his room for days on end when he did something wrong, and the desire to escape the house he grew up in. But Sirius wasn't the sort to go to a psychiatrist, so all he knew was that he liked it. And it was precisely because he liked it that Sirius Black ended up walking into a coffee shop on the edge of muggle London, with nothing but time to kill and a few pounds he had found on the street.

The coffee shop was bustling, as it was eight o'clock in the morning, and he compared the price board to the money in his pocket, satisfied that he would be able to afford a drink.

After ordering a coffee, black as his name, he loitered by the counter and looked around at the other patrons. Quite a few business men, a few joggers, some harried moms rocking babies.

Seeing no one that he was particularly interested in interacting with, he chose an empty table and pulled out his sketchbook, ready to draw. Nothing was really catching his interest, however, until the door to the shop opened again and oh... _oh_.

She was beautiful. Leather jacket to match his, miniskirt, and pointed heels, she was a dream wrapped up in rock 'n' roll. Her eyes were wide and brown, her hair blonde and curled, but what really got him was her lipstick, bright pink and ready to fuck.

She walked toward the counter with a purpose, and rattled off her order as though she had done it a thousand times.

Muggle then, but no matter, Sirius had always prided himself on being open minded.

The barista looked starstruck for a moment, but then turned to make her beverage, leaving her leaning on the counter.

Sirius almost died when she turned her eyes to his and smiled, but instead he simply smirked back, biting his lip a little in a way that drove women crazy; well, witches anyway, he wasn't quite sure about muggles. It seemed to work, however, and once her coffee was done she made her way over to him, heels clicking on the linoleum floor, drink clutched in her perfectly manicured hand.

"Do you mind?" she asked, and Sirius was surprised to hear that she was American.

"Not at all," he answered, "Here, let me wipe off your seat for you."

And then, in a move that would either win her or lose her, he took a napkin to wipe off his face.

With a laugh loud and beautiful that struck Sirius to his very core, she sat down (in a chair) and took a sip of her coffee.

"You're a brave man," she told him, lips tilting into a smirk, "But are you brave enough to tell me your name?"

"Sirius Orion Black," he stated, knowing a dare when he heard it. "And you are?"

"Marianne Rose Hayworth, but you can call me Mary, like the virgin," she told him, holding out a hand for him to shake. Sirius didn't know who the fuck the virgin Mary was, but with a name like that he was guessing he wouldn't much like her, so he took the offered hand and kissed it, saying: "I don't know about you, but I'm not a huge fan of virgins, so I think I'll just call you Rose."

When he had extended his hand to hers his jacket shifted, and her eyes lit up when she saw the wand in his inner pocket. Sirius felt his heart jolt, hoping she was a witch, but she squashed his hope when she pointed to it with her free hand and asked, "What is that?"

"Sorry, love," he told her, dropping her hand and leaning back in his seat so his jacket concealed it once more, "I don't give away all my secrets on the first date."  
"Then let's have a second one," she replied with a smirk, and took his art pencil from his hand to write an address on his sketchbook. "Tomorrow night, eleven o'clock, be there," she ordered, leaving Sirius to nod, starstruck, as she stood up, grabbed her coffee, and walked out the door, leaving the wizard to wonder what just happened.


	3. Chapter 3

The Lupin house was quiet. Not the soft, tender quiet of early mornings or the heavy, deep quiet of the night, but quiet, sharp and stretched with nerves.

The Lupins were both laying in their bed, reading by lamplight, but neither of them were processing the words.

Finally, after a long and awkward silence, the stillness was broken by Rose screaming in frustration and throwing her book to the ground, shoving the covers off and stalking to the kitchen.

After a small moment of bewilderment, Remus got out of bed too, bare feet padding on the floor as he rushed to see what was the matter. He entered the kitchen to see Rose hunched over the sink, sobs racking her body as she clutched the counter so tightly her knuckles were white.

"Oh darling," he sighed, and wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"It's just so fucked up!" she cried, turning around to bury herself in his chest. "We're supposed to be happy, we _were_ so happy! We finally got jobs were we can be together, I get to see where you grew up, and we get to see Harry, but now he's coming after him and I remember changing Harry's diapers, Remus, and having him fall asleep in my arms and now Sirius has ruined _everything._ I'm supposed to be excited for tomorrow but I'm dreading it and it's just not fair!"

"I know," Remus soothed, "I know."

He let her cry for a while, holding her close and rocking her back and forth, silently cursing Sirius Black with everything he had. After her sobs had died down to pathetic little whimpers he pulled back, wiping the tears from her face.

"I know it doesn't seem like it," he told her, stroking her cheekbone with the pad of his thumb, "but it's all going to be okay in the end. I _promise,_ " he stressed when she scoffed and tried to look away, "Hogwarts is the safest place on earth, Harry will be safe, and Sirius will eventually be caught; he's bound to be mad and half starved by now. Besides, we'll have each other, won't we? And I'll always make sure you're safe darling, you know I'd never let anything happen to you."

Rose gave a little hiccup, but offered a weak smile, and wound her arms around his neck. "We won't have each other for the next week though," she told him, "Are you sure you don't want to come to Hogwarts early with me? Dumbledore said he was fine with you transforming there. Or I could just go on the express with you..."

But Remus was already shaking his head.

"You know I can't do shit around the full moon, and it's my mother's birthday next Wednesday, so I can't miss that. Besides, I went to Hogwarts for seven years, but this will be your first time, you'll need the staff week to get acquainted with the castle and the faculty."

"I hate it when you're right," Rose said with a dramatic sigh, before the corners of her mouth tilted up in a smile, "but if you kissed me I might hate it less."

Remus chuckled but wasted no time, head dipping to capture her lips in his. The kiss was slow and languid, the kind of kiss that melts chocolate and tastes like toothpaste, and Remus breathed in the smell of her, strawberry shampoo and lavender soap, while he licked her mouth open. Rose gasped as he softly bit her bottom lip, and pressed herself impossibly closer, molding her body to his. Ten years of marriage and Remus still wasn't used to the feel of her, the softness of her skin, the dip of her collarbone, the swell of her hips. Every time he touched her he felt twenty-four again, unsure and reverent; a monster caressing an angel.

Slowly, so as not to to jostle her, he picked her up and sat her on the kitchen counter, pulling his lips from hers to place hot, open-mouthed kisses down the column of her neck, his left hand placed carefully over her throat so he could feel the vibrations of her moans. Her small hands went to the elastic on his pajama bottoms and she took him in hand as he took one of her nipples in his mouth, her nightshirt pulled down to reveal her breasts. After her hands gave him a practically religious experience he came, sighing into her mouth, and feeling her smile against his.

"Alright," she murmured, trying to slide off the counter, "time to sleep."

"Oh no you don't," he replied, holding her in place by her thighs and dropping to his knees. Then, with the twinkle of the stars from the window and the uncertainty of the future to spur him on, he ate her out like he was taking benediction, and smiled when her hands tightened in his hair and her head dropped back against the cupboard.

 **Author's note: I know that it's Remus's** ** _father_** **that should be alive instead of his mom, but I like Rose having another muggle woman to relate with, so I changed it. Reviews always welcome!**


	4. Chapter 4

**London, 1981**

The address was for the National Gallery, which raised two questions in Sirius's mind: One, why did Rose have the address for the National Gallery memorized, and two, how the fuck was he supposed to find her in the National Gallery? The second question was answered pretty quickly, as the doors were locked, and the hours painted on the front proclaimed it closed at nine. Sirius ran his hand through his hair and swore. He had been so sure that she had been into him, but he guessed that she had probably-

"Sirius Orion Black."

The words hit his ears smooth as liquor, and he whipped around to see who had spoken them.

"Marianne Rose Hayworth," he replied, trying not to let relief color his voice; for it was indeed her, pink lipstick and all.

She laughed and pulled a key out of the pocket of her ripped-up jeans, then opened the front door and beckoned Sirius inside.

"Wicked," he whispered under his breath, and followed her in.

"I stole the key from my brother," she told him, voice strangely small in the empty lobby, "He works security here. Most of the staff should be gone by now, but there are a few night guards about."

"What do we do if we run into one of the night guards?" Sirius asked, hand itching to take hers. She turned toward him and smiled, freckled cheeks dimpling, then leaned in close to whisper in his ear, "I haven't thought that far yet, but I hope you're fast." Then she laughed, far too loudly for someone who didn't want to be caught, and interlaced her fingers into his, pulling him into one of the galleries.

Sirius had only been to the National Gallery one other time, and it had been a rather unpleasant experience. He had only been fourteen and Walburga had still been convinced that she could make him cultured, so she had apperated them to a concealed wing of the building, where all the paintings were done by those of the magical persuasion. Luckily he already knew that muggles' artwork didn't move, or he might have made an ass out of himself in front of Rose and asked what was wrong.

They strolled along, stopping at whatever painting took their fancy, their hands still firmly clasped as they told each other about their lives. Sirius told her about James, Peter, and Remus in front of Rembrandt's self portrait ("It's almost as thought they're pieces of my soul, I would die for any one of them,"), she told him of her love for music whilst looking at 'Sunflowers' by Van Gogh ("When the music hits you just right, whether it's Sinatra or Tchaikovsky, well, I think that's what magic feels like,"), he waxed poetry about his motorcycle while they stared at 'Whistlejacket' ("She's gorgeous, she drives like a dream, all black and chrome, and that engine? Woo!") and she told him of America while they stood by 'The Battle of San Romano.' ("I never thought it would be so different here. It's the little things that make me miss it; the word cookies makes me homesick like nothing else.").

Sirius lost track of how much time they spent in the National Gallery, and he spent more time adoring her than looking at 'The Adoration of the Kings,' but every second was amazing and he mapped every inch of the paintings as he mapped every one of her freckles.

"Have you been here before?" she asked him, leaning her head on his shoulder as they paused in front of a Monet.

"Once," he answered truthfully, "when I was fourteen. I made a scene though, and my mother made us leave." He had demanded to also see the muggle paintings, and when his mother refused he started very vocally calling her a bigot. It had been his mother's last outing with him.

Rose took her head off of his shoulder, and put a hand under his chin, turning his face to hers.

"Would you like to make a scene now?"

"For you?" Sirius answered, "of course."

"Then kiss me."

Sirius paused for a moment, as though daring her to change her mind, then, slowly, as though afraid he would break her, he lowered his lips to hers. He kissed her softly, reverently, his heart stopping; the feeling of anticipation in his stomach blooming into joy. Her kiss was languid, soft, and tasted like lipstick and caramel, but just as Sirius was licking her mouth open they were startled apart by a shout.

"WHAT ARE YOU KIDS DOING IN HERE?"

It was the elusive night-guard, only appearing when he was least desired.

"Fuck," the couple said together, and, as though of one mind, grabbed each others' hands and ran for the exit. Luckily the guard was old and portly, and they quickly outran him, though Rose dragged behind due to the fact that she was six inches shorter than Sirius. Finally, they emerged out of the National Gallery and into the night air, high on adrenaline and each other. And suddenly they were kissing, breathlessly, and Sirius decided that he was going to marry her.


	5. Chapter 5

She felt extremely awkward. Rose was no stranger to new places, to being the odd one out. In fact, she was incredibly used to it with Remus's furry little problem; however, Remus was typically with her. And now she was here, standing alone in front of the fireplace she had flooed into, clutching her suitcase and feeling like a lost schoolgirl.

Standing in this room filled with fantastical objects and snoozing portraits she was now thoroughly regretting not getting the robes Remus offered to buy her, but she always felt as though she was playing dressup with them on, and she was going to be the muggle studies professor anyway, so perhaps it was best she didn't.

"I'm glad to see you found my office without any trouble, I once had a wizard end up in Mr. Filch's office, and I am sad to say that Mrs. Norris attacked him with a vengeance."

The voice startled Rose, as she thought she was alone, but she smiled and turned to address the speaker.

"Albus! It's so good to see you!"

Dumbledore chuckled at her relieved enthusiasm and shook her hand warmly before placing his hand on her shoulder and leading her out of his office. They walked for a while in silence that was comfortable to Dumbledore and extremely awkward for Rose: after they came to the bottom of the stairs however, Dumbledore asked how Remus was doing and Rose was able to grasp onto the conversation.

"Oh, he's doing very well, thanks. The full moon's coming up, I'm sure you know that, but Remus is very excited to be taking the wolfsbane potion this year. Of course, he can't do it this week because he's got his mother's birthday. By the way, would you mind horribly if I flooed out on Wednesday, just for a bit? It's just that Hope is getting on in years and I am terribly fond of her..." Here Rose trailed off and gazed hopefully at the headmaster, whose eyes twinkled down at her, behind his half-moon spectacles.

"Of course you can, I am not in the habit of holding my staff members hostage."

At this Rose blushed, but before she could reply Dumbledore continued to speak.

"This staff week does not have a nailed down schedule, so you're perfectly welcome to come and go as you like. Some of our staff will not even arrive until a few days from now, not to mention your husband, who's coming in on the Hogwart's express. No, the week is just for staff to mingle, finish lesson plans, and get settled in the castle."

Rose nodded, taking in her surroundings. Though she had been part of the magical community for almost twenty years she had never been somewhere that was so obviously not normal. Moving portraits lined the walls along with suits of armor that turned their heads as she passed by, while the stone walls and high arched windows made her feel as though she was on a movie set. Though she knew it was childish, she wished that Remus was with her, he always made magic seem less scary and more inviting.

"Well, this is where I must bid goodnight," Dumbledore said as he came to a stop in front of a rather plain door, "I trust it's not a problem that you'll share quarters with Remus?"

Rose shook her head rather violently, as she would have liked nothing less than to be separated from her husband, and accepted the key the headmaster handed her.

"We typically have the doors open to each witch or wizard's unique magical imprint, but as you have no magical abilities, we've had the door enchanted so that it will only open to a few select keys. One being yours, one being your husband's, and one being mine, in case of emergencies only of course."

"Are there often emergencies here?" Rose asked, an uncomfortable ball of anxiety rising in her throat.

"Fortunately they seem to only happen around the end of term," Dumbledore said, as though sharing an inside joke, "Though I would like to have a talk with you tomorrow after lunch, concerning a few security related matters."

"Sirius, you mean," Rose replied, voice growing colder.

"Unfortunately, yes," The Headmaster replied, bowing his head, "But let us not worry about that tonight. I will leave you to your rooms for now, I hope you sleep pleasantly."

And with that, Dumbledore swept the hat off of his head, sunk into a very low bow, and strode off in the same direction from whence they came, leaving Rose to fumble with her suitcase and her key.

 **Thank you so much for commenting everybody! Every time I see a comment, follow, or favorite it makes my day! Sorry the updates are few and far between, but I'm a full time college student with a part time job who's running three active stories, and it gets a little overwhelming.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Outskirts of London, 1981**

"I'm in love!" Sirius exclaimed, lying upside down on the Potter's couch, with the marauders and Lily surrounding him.

"That's nice, Padfoot," James responded absentmindedly, patting his friend's head like one would a dog.

"That's nice?" Sirius repeated dramatically, struggling with no small amount of difficulty to right himself, "That's nice? James, your best mate has just told you that he has found the girl he wants to spend the rest of his life with and you respond with nice? I am hurt, I am wounded, I am... decidedly not nice."

"Well, It's not as if it's never happened before," James replied, "There was Dorcas Mallory, who you proclaimed your love to in front of the great hall,"

"Sara Lionsfoot, who you lost your virginity to and then almost cried while telling us about it because it was 'the most beautiful thing you'd ever experienced,'" Peter interjected, chuckling at the memory.

"Delphine Astoria, who you bought six dozen roses for, Lillianna Morris, who you stalked for an entire month in seventh year, Zahara Shaklebolt, who broke up with you after a week because you asked what she wanted to name your kids, Gwendolin Zabini, who you waited on hand and foot but treated you like scum..." Remus helpfully listed off, leaning against Sirius's legs as he read The Prophet.

"Ha ha," Sirius said sarcastically, "but I just thought that was love. I was young, and naive. This is the real thing, she's different."

"You're not dating Marlene again?" Lily asked, looking up from painting her toenails to shoot Sirius an accusatory glance, "because though I adore the both of you separately, together you're a trainwreck."

"One: it's called passion, and two: it's not Marlene. In fact, and you'll enjoy this Lily, she's a muggle."

Lily, however, did not enjoy it.

"So you're on to scamming muggles now? That poor girl has no idea what you are and you're content to hoodwink her about the most important aspect about your being just to get a snog now and then? That's cruel, Sirius."

"I don't think so," Remus butted in before Sirius had a chance to defend himself, "my mother's a muggle and my parents had an excellent relationship. I applaud you, Sirius."

"Thank you, Moony," he said, giving a little bow.

"Doesn't she think it's weird that you know nothing about muggles? I mean, muggle studies was the only class you ever failed," James said.

"You took muggle studies?" Lily asked.

"Just because James was taking it because he wanted to relate to you," he replied, laughing as Peter mimed vomiting while Lily and James made gooey eyes at each other. The Potters were still in their newlywed stage and it was getting kind of annoying for their friends.

"Anyway," Sirius continued, "She doesn't think it's weird. She's from the States, so whenever she mentions something I don't know, I just tell her we don't have that in Britain."

James and Peter laughed, but Lily once again stared at him disapprovingly, this time accompanied by Remus.

"It would do you better just to learn about muggle culture," Remus scolded.

"I am!" Sirius protested, "I have to figure out where to take her on dates, so I've done quite a bit of walking round the city, and she also takes me to the most fantastic places. We go to old bookstores, and walk around parks, and she takes me to these weird talking pictures that she calls 'movies.' They're really amazing, I think you'd especially like them Wormtail. She's also really good at breaking into places; we went to an abandoned hospital last week and for our first date we broke into the National Gallery. Oh, and I know how to use a telephone now."

"Impressive," James complimented, and even Lily and Remus could not come up with anything to the contrary, "When do we get to meet her?"

Sirius shrugged, "I don't know, we haven't even-" he made a crude hand gesture,"-yet. She lives with her brother, and my apartment is full of magical shit, so I can't bring her there. Besides, auror training is kicking my ass, you know how it is."

James nodded sagely but both Peter and Remus shifted uncomfortably. Peter had not had high enough grades to become an auror, and Remus had not even been allowed to apply because of his condition, therefore they both worked in shops; Peter at an apothecary and Remus at a secondhand bookstore. Lily was training to become a healer.

"Bring her here," Lily suggested, "I know enough about muggles to make the house presentable, and we'll have a dinner party so she can meet everyone. Then afterward you can both stay the night and you can cry while making love to her."

"I've never cried while fucking," Sirius scoffed.

"Oh really?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow, "Because James told me otherwise."

"That was one time!" Sirius protested, cheeks turning Gryffindor red as the rest of the Marauders started laughing, "I was drunk and it was a beautiful moment and I told that to James _in confidence_."

James had the decency to look ashamed of himself, but that didn't stop the chuckles coming out of Remus and Peter.

"Oh come off it!" he exclaimed, chucking pillows at them, smiling as he did it.

"What's her name?" Lily asked, drying her toenail polish with her wand.

"Marianne Rose Hayworth, soon to be Black."

"I've heard that name before..." Remus said, trailing off.

"Well of course you have, Moony, we've been friends for years!"

"Not your name, you troll!" he exclaimed, elbowing his friend in the knee, "Hers! Though I can't recall where I know it from."

None of the other marauders seemed worried.

"It's a common last name," Sirius said with a shrug, "You probably saw it in the Prophet somewhere. I mean, she's a muggle, so it's not as if you would actually know her name."

"Yes, I suppose that's true," Remus conceded, but still, something didn't feel quite right.

"Merlin's saggy testicles!" Sirius exclaimed, looking at his watch and standing quickly, "I've got to go, got to meet Rose in a couple of minutes. I'll bring her round on Friday? At seven?"

"Sounds good," Lily and James said simultaneously.

And with that, Sirius turned on the spot, and with a crack, disappeared, leaving only a few eyebrow hairs behind him.

 **Thanks so much for reading! Y'all are great! I know the year is probably a little messed up, but because Sirius doesn't meet Rose until after school I wanted them to have a bit more time to get to know each other.**


	7. Chapter 7

**London 1981**

The first time Remus Lupin met Rose he was engaged in one of his favorite activities; feeling sorry for himself.

He and Sirius were shopping for groceries, and Remus was trying not to wax poetry in his mind about how the florescent lights made his friend's hair shine.

"You'll love her, I'm sure," Sirius was currently telling his friend, "She's got your bloody weird sense of humor, and she likes that zazz stuff too,"

"Jazz," Remus interjected.

Sirius waved a hand.

"Whatever, she even laughs the way you do, like a fucking hyena."

'Why couldn't she _be_ me then?' he thought miserably, staring dejectedly at a mushroom display.

He had been trying to get over Sirius ever since he had realized he had a crush on him in fifth year, and he was doing better now, he really was, but that didn't change the fact that none of his relationships had ever lasted more than three months.

"Come on," Sirius said, hair falling out of his bun as he crossed the last item off on Lily's list, "Let's go before Prongs and Wormtail finish their chess game. I rigged the kings to explode when a checkmate happens."

Remus demonstrated his hyena laugh as he imagined Wormtail's terrified face when the chessboard erupted.

"There's the Moony I know and love," Sirius crowed, elbowing Remus in the ribs, "What's yanked your tail today, sourwolf?"

Remus shrugged, his jumper sliding off his shoulder with the motion.

"I don't know, Padfoot, it's just with Prongs being married and you with this girl, well, it just makes me worry I'll have to marry Wormtail."

Sirius barked out a laugh at the mental image of Peter in a wedding gown, but became more serious as the cashier checked them out.

"Don't worry, Moony, you still have time to find yourself a bird, or bloke, you're only twenty, you know."

"But that's 140 in dog years," he deadpanned, cracking a smile as Sirius laughed again.

The two settled into an easy silence as Remus handled the muggle money, but once the groceries had been bagged Sirius startled Remus by saying: "I'm going to tell her tonight... that I'm a wizard."

Remus's eyebrows shot up as his stomach dropped down.

"You must be really serious about her then."

He shot Remus a sly smile.

"Padfoot, I swear to Merlin if you-"

"I'm _always_ Sirius!"

Remus groaned as his friend gave him a shit-eating grin.

After an eye roll from the werewolf they returned to the original topic.

"I know I act like I'm dosed with love potion whenever I'm with someone, but Moony... I really think that she's the one. I can't imagine my life without her, anymore than I can imagine life without you or Prongs or Wormtail. It's like... I'm always so angry, all the time, about my parents, about the ministry, about this fucking war going on, but when I see her it's like Voldemort doesn't even exist. I just feel... I don't know, peaceful."

Regardless of the fact that Remus's insides felt like they were knotting themselves together, he couldn't help but smile at his friend.

"I'm glad, Padfoot, it's about time you found someone. Hopefully she doesn't mind the fleas."

Sirius barked out a laugh as they exited the shop, but at that moment Remus lost his breath for an entirely different reason.

She was beautiful.

There, on the dull gray London sidewalk, was an angel. Her hair was strikingly blond, and it bounced with every step she took with her pointed high heeled shoes. Her shoes, lipstick, and earrings were all a shocking pink, and she wore a denim jacket over a leather dress. She blew a bubble with her gum, and as the bubble popped Remus felt an arrow pierce his heart.

She approached the pair like a ray of sunshine, and then she kissed Sirius square on the lips.

Remus blamed the shock for how much that turned him on.

The two broke apart with dopey smiles and acknowledged the werewolf next to them.

"Hi," the girl said, a bit breathlessly, "I'm Rose. You must be Remus."

Remus frowned at how easily she recognized him.

"Sirius told you about my scars?"

Rose smiled.

"Not at all, but he does always complain about how tall you are. Says he feels like a little girl standing next to you."

Sirius looked mock offended but Remus laughed, ruffling his friend's hair.

"He doesn't need _my_ help to look that way."

Sirius gave Remus a shove and the two scuffled for a moment while Rose laughed next to them. Remus was surprised that her laugh did indeed sound like his, loud and wild and almost as though it had been surprised out of her.

"We're going back to the Potter's place now," Sirius told her after the scuffle was over, "Want to come with? You can see a master chef at work."

"As much as I would love to see Lily cook," Rose responded, causing a mock wounded look from Sirius and another startled laugh from Remus, "I have to meet some friends for coffee."

Sirius shrugged it off, but both the boys were disappointed.

"It's fine," Sirius said, "We'll see you tonight anyway. Go on and give us a kiss before you go."

Rose gave Sirius another smack on the lips and then, to Remus's surprise, she got up on the bench he was standing next to so she could kiss his cheek. With a waggle of her fingers she was gone.

Sirius laughed.

"I know you haven't been kissed in a while, Moony, but there's no reason to look so surprised."

Remus shook his head.

"No, it's just that she smelled like... nevermind."

Sirius gave an inquisitive look but didn't press, and with that the two strolled to the alley next to the store and apperated to the Potters' just in time to see the chessboard explode.

AAAAAAAAA

 **AN: So sorry for two flashback chapters in a row! I didn't realize I was supposed to be writing POA chapter until I had already finished this one! The next chapter should be a little longer. Thanks so much for the reviews, they really brighten my day. Extra special thanks to HoneyBear84 for reviewing twice!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Sorry for the delay, but as a peace offering this chapter is a whopping four thousand words. Thanks so much to those who have followed, faved, and especially reviewed!**

Waking up in the cozy little room in Hogwarts would have been nicer if Rose had not rolled over and expected Remus to be there.

She never used to panic when she woke up alone, but something about having your husband committing mass murder made you long for security, and six and a half feet of werewolf did wonders for peace of mind.

The room was warm despite the old stone walls and stained glass windows, and Rose chalked up the good insulation to magic.

Rubbing her hands against the scars on her breastbone, which always seemed to ache in the morning, she padded to the little kitchenette to make herself some tea. A sharp crack made her drop the teapot, and she screamed when she whirled around and saw an ugly little creature with a long skinny nose and giant ears reminiscent of a bat's.

"Please do not scream, Miss," the little creature squeaked, looking just as scared as she was, "Toffee is here under Dumbledore's orders, Miss."

"What are you?" Rose asked, eyes still wide but calmed slightly at the mention of Dumbledore's name.

"Toffee is a house-elf, Miss, Toffee works in Hogwarts," she said, ears flapping as she bowed low.

"Oh," Rose replied, feeling quite stupid. Remus had told her of them in passing, but knew of them mostly from Sirius, who had spoken of the house elves he had with the venom he saved only for his family. His hatred had distorted her view of the race, and she had expected house elves to be disgusting and hateful, not panicked and wide eyed.

"I'm sorry, Toffee," she told the elf, "I suppose I... I've never met a house elf before. How do you do?"

She stuck out her hand to shake Toffee's but dropped it when the elf looked at her as if she was stupid.

"Peoples do not shake elves' hands, Miss, but Toffee is doing well. Toffee is to be your personal elf, Miss, yours and Master Lupin's. Dumbledore told me to takes you to breakfast, but I sees you are not quite dressed so Toffee will come back. Call Toffee when you'se is ready."

And with that, the elf disappeared with another crack, leaving Rose standing there in her nightgown.

After a moment to process what just happened, she picked up the kettle that lay discarded on the floor and went to go get dressed.

A yellow polka dot dress and brown kitten heels were topped off by a sweater of Remus's that was big even on him. The sweater hung open and hit the back of her calves, making her look like a child, but she was a muggle among wizards, and she would allow herself this creature comfort.

"Toffee?" she called out skeptically, feeling rather silly.

Toffee appeared with another crack, and though she raised a hairless eyebrow at her lack of robes she gave another low bow and trotted out of Rose's room, patiently waiting as the muggle locked the door.

"Toffee is to show you around until the children arrive," the elf told her, little feet slapping on the stone floor as they turned the corner, "Hogwarts is very big, Miss, very big indeed. I do not wants you getting lost no I don'ts."

"That's very kind, Toffee. Have you worked here long?"

Toffee's little chest puffed out with pride, displaying the Hogwarts crest on her perfectly pressed uniform.

"Toffee was born here, Miss, and I knows the castle better than most, yes I does!"

Rose smiled at the squeaky elf, liking her already.

"Then I'm very glad to have you as my guide."

Toffee looked so proud that Rose could only describe her walk as a strut.

"Are there many elves here?" Rose asked, eyes wondering over the moving tapestries on the walls.

"There are hundreds of elves here, Miss, as many as there are students! We is in the kitchen most times, miss, but we cleans at night."

"Will you be cleaning my quarters?"

"No, miss, we give teachers privacy, but if you and Master Lupin wish it Toffee would be glad to clean, yes I woulds!"

"I'll keep that in mind," she told the elf, wobbling as the staircase beneath her feet began to move.

At the end of the staircase a large hall sprawled out, with the biggest doors Rose had ever seen on her right.

"Those are the main doors, miss, and on your left is the Great Hall. This is where you will eat, miss, but Toffee has stocked your personal kitchen and you can take your meals there, yes you can."

The elf gave a low curtsy when they reached the Great Hall, her nose almost touching the ground.

"Toffee will leave you now, miss, but I will shows you to your classroom after you eat."

"Thank you, Toffee," Rose said with a smile, "I'm glad that you're my elf."

Toffee beamed with pride, disappearing with a crack.

Rose fiddled with a button on her sweater, wishing even more strongly that Remus was here now that Toffee was gone.

The Great Hall was indeed great, with a swirling ceiling and floating candles, but it seemed rather empty, with only one small table in the middle of it.

There were only two people seated at the table, though there was one plate that looked as though it had been abandoned in the middle of the meal.

Dumbledore smiled widely when he saw her and rose to shake her hand warmly.

"I am glad that Toffee was able to find you your way. She is a most helpful elf, I would have her assist me in my office if her name did not constantly give me the desire for sweets."

Rose laughed and sat in the chair the headmaster had pulled out for her.

"She was very helpful, I don't know if I would have found my way without her."

"The castle is intimidating at first, but you will soon find your way," the other person at the table said, extending a hand, "My name is Minerva McGonagall, I assume you are out new muggle studies professor."

"That I am," Rose replied, shaking her hand firmly.

McGonagall was taller than Rose, her hat making her sit even higher. She looked to be about seventy, and her square spectacles framed sharp eyes. Rose decided she liked her immediately.

"You're Lupin's wife, are you not?" McGonagall asked, cutting into a sausage.

"Yes, I am," Rose replied, loading her plate, "Though I promise I'll try to keep him out of detention."

A laugh was startled out of McGonagall and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

"He certainly was quite the troublemaker," McGonagall agreed, her fond smile making her look a few years younger, "Though I suspect he was behind much more than we were able to catch him at."

"I have made him give up polyjuice potion if that makes it any better," Rose said with a laugh, referring to the incident when the four marauders had spent months making polyjuice potion with the express purpose of all insisting to be Dumbledore one morning at breakfast.

The conversation flowed easily from there as the three ate their meal, but when Rose pushed up the sleeves of Remus's sweater the easy going mood was broken.

"Those are interesting tattoos," McGonagall said, referring to the leaves that swayed on Rose's arms, her eyes following a drawn caterpillar as it crawled just below the muggle's elbow, "Who would do such work? Surely they knew you were a muggle."

"Sirius did them," Rose said quietly, pulling the sleeves back down, "He was always quite the artist."

"I am sorry about this whole ordeal," McGonagall said, "This can't be easy for you, I know you lost so much at his hands."

"Thank you, Minerva," she said with a sad smile.

"I had hoped to talk with you about the unfortunate situation with your husband this evening," Dumbledore said quietly, the twinkle in his eyes extinguishing.

"Of course," she agreed, the food in front of her suddenly looking unappetizing, "but I think I'll go to my classroom now. Toffee?"

With a crack, the little elf appeared at her side, dipping into a curtsy.

"This evening then," Dumbledore said, rising from his chair and dipping into a bow.

Rose gave a nod to Dumbledore and hurried out of the room, Toffee at her heels.

"Mistress's classroom is up on the third floor," Toffee squeaked, "Jump over that stair!"

Rose jumped over it.

"Sink stair," the elf said in explanation, then continued on her way, "Miss's class is on the same floor as Master Lupin's."

Rose felt some of her anxiety ease at the knowledge that her husband would be just across the hall.

"Is Minerva the only one here?" she asked the elf, trying to memorize the way to her class.

"Oh no, miss," Toffee said, shaking her head, "Professor Trelawney and Professor Binns lives in the castle all year, yes they does."

"What do they teach?"

"Professor Trelawney teaches Divination, Professor Binns teaches History of Magics."

"Perhaps I'll pay them a visit later today," she mused.

Toffee looked around furtively before tugging on Rose's dress. Rose leaned down so Toffee could whisper in her ear.

"Toffee begs your pardon, miss, she knows she should not say bad things against professors, but they is very strange, miss. Professor Trelawney is always jumpy, and will not even allow elves to clean her classroom, very strange, and Professor Binns is, begging your pardon miss, Binns is so boring that Toffee once fell asleep when he was talking to her!"

"Thank you for telling me," Rose whispered, the way one might to a child who begged you not to tell that they had stolen a cookie, "I promise not to breathe a word."

Giving a nod of great importance, Toffee set on her way, leaving Rose to cover up her own mouth so the elf would not hear her laughing.

Walking into the classroom was nothing like she ever experienced.

She had been working in a shop when Dumbledore had found her, and though her career had been long and varied she often lost jobs due to Remus. It was never his fault directly, but when her bosses would see the scars that adorned his entire body they would typically decide that he was bad news, and that she was bad news for marrying him. Those that didn't fire her due to Remus's appearance had to let her go when the neighbors started getting suspicious and the Lupins had to move.

She had always been a little person, and having her own classroom was beyond anything she had ever dreamed.

Education had always been something she valued highly, but like a fool she had chosen not to go to University as she had married Sirius at eighteen, and had never been able to further her education because of money concerns after that. There were times when both the Lupins were unemployed, so when they were working they were saving money to not starve when the inevitable happened and they lost their jobs.

It wasn't the largest classroom in the school, as her course was entirely an elective, but it was roomy, with beautiful high windows covering one of the walls, giving her a lovely view of the Quidditch pitch. The room was empty, but Rose was already decorating in her mind, and she thought she would be very happy here indeed.

"Would it be possible to get a bookcase in here?" she asked Toffee, "I think it would look splendid against the eastern wall."

"Of course, miss, of course, I will sees to it at once."

"And I have a few boxes in my quarters, if you could bring them here as well, they should have arrived by now," she added absentmindedly, trailing her fingers across the large oak desk in the front of the room.

Toffee nodded, and with a crack, disappeared.

The next half an hour was a whirl of elves apperating in and out of the classroom bringing the things that she had requested, and tripping over themselves to bow and curtsy and ask if she needed anything else.

When it was over Rose felt out of breath, even though she didn't do anything.

Toffee made a promise to come back and collect her at lunch, and then, finally, she was alone.

Leaning against the windowsill she brought the sweater she was wearing to her nose, inhaling deeply. She felt she hadn't seen her husband in years, regardless of the fact that it had been only a day.

Magic was... magic was something that was only exciting when she had someone standing beside her, a roller-coaster only fun when you hold your mother's hand. Though she loved the wizarding world it also frightened her. She had a few defenses against magic, sure, but that didn't change the fact that even a determined first year had more power here than she did.

Sighing, she moved away from the window, it would do no good to stand around and mope. After finding a gramophone in one of the boxes and starting a Billie Holiday record, she began to put things in their places.

She filled the bookshelves with muggle novels, covered the walls with posters comparing muggles to wizards, and placed a box full of pens on her desk. The result was quite charming, not as charming as the baby dragon skeleton Remus planned to hang from the ceiling of _his_ classroom, but charming nonetheless.

Just as she took a seat Toffee appeared once more.

"Is Miss ready to go to lunch?" she asked in her high, squeaky voice.

"I suppose," Rose replied, wondering if she would ever get used to the crack that accompanied the elf.

The two began walking back to the Great Hall, the elf chattering about castle life while Rose mapped how to get back to her classroom in her head. The kids would never respect her if she had to ask where her classroom was.

"So you're saying that there are hundreds of elves living in the castle right now? But you're the only one I've seen!"

Toffee puffed up with pride.

"Then we is doing our job, Miss, house elves are only to be seen when needed, and you needs me, yes you do."

"I'll concede with that," Rose said with a laugh.

After another right turn they found themselves in front of the Great Hall.

"Thank you for getting me here, Toffee," she said, "I'll see you after lunch."

With a curtsy and a crack, the elf disappeared.

The Great Hall was less of a shock the second time, but Rose still had to stop herself from gaping open mouthed at the ceiling.

The table had an extra occupant this time, and from the bird-like way the woman was eating her food Rose guessed that she was responsible for the half-eaten plate from breakfast.

"Professor Trelawney, I presume," Rose said, sitting down and smoothing her skirt.

Trelawney jumped, a piece of food falling out of her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at the muggle.

"Yes," she said in a wispy voice, arranging herself to look more dignified, "but who are you dear child? Students aren't supposed to be here for another week."

Bewildered, Rose looked at Dumbledore. Though she looked young for her age she knew she didn't look anywhere near seventeen.

The Headmaster took over easily.

"This is our new Muggle Studies professor, Rose Lupin."

"Lupin?" Trelawney said, "From the latin, wolfish, yes... yes I can see it now, a wolf travels with you, beside you, is following you now-"

"Oh cut it out, Sybill," McGonagall snapped, "We all know that she's married to a werewolf."

"Is she?" Trelawney asked, blinking her large eyes owlishly, "It must have slipped my mind."

"Mrs. Lupin will go by her maiden name, Hayworth, while at school, considering that her husband is also going to be teaching, and that it would be quite bamboozling to have two Professor Lupins," Dumbledore said, with a small grin.

Trelawney ignored him.

"Do tell me when you're finished with your tea, my dear, I will read the leaves."

Rose opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by McGonagall.

"Of course she doesn't want that rubbish, Sybill, she's here to experience _real_ magic."

Trelawny puffed up, the many necklaces she wore clacking together.

"Why, I have never been so insulted by-"

The rest of the meal went on in this fashion as Dumbledore and Rose ate, flashing looks at each other when one of the witches said something particularly scathing.

"I was wondering if you would come by my office now, Professor Hayworth, or do you have plans?" Dumbledore asked when the womens' tone elevated to shouting.

"I had actually been hoping to take tea with Professor Trelawny, and then stop by Professor Binns, but I would love to join you after dinner, Albus."

Dumbledore nodded graciously but both Trelawney and McGonagall looked shocked by the declaration.

After a small moment of bafflement, Trelawny straightened her glasses and gave a small, prim smile.

"Of course," she said, bumping the table as she rose, "Tea would be much more preferable than _current_ company."

Shooting an apologetic smile at McGonagall, Rose stood, took Trelawny's arm, and exited the Great Hall.

Trelawny seemed more content to stomp than to talk, so Rose let the older woman lead her through the castle and up into her office.

When she got there it was stifling, a perfumed fire crackling in the fireplace, and it looked as though it was decorated by someone trying to make it look like the home of an old-timey fortune teller.

"I have the kettle somewhere around here, dear," Trelawny told her as she rummaged through the shelves of knickknacks she had on the walls, "Just have a seat by the fire."

Doing as she was told, Rose sat on one of the cushioned stools by the roaring flames, looking idly around the room.

"How long have you been working here, Professor?"

"Fourteen years," Trelawney exclaimed proudly, holding up the kettle she had finally procured, "And please my dear, if you are to teach here, you must call me Sybill."

"Of course, Sybill, and you must call me Rose."

"Rose," Trelawney repeated, pouring water in the kettle, "A symbol of balance and new beginnings, as well as loss and thoughtlessness. We shall certainly have some interesting years with you here."

"So you believe I'll last to next year?" Rose asked, a little bubble of hope rising in her throat even though she was skeptical of the woman's predictions.

"Oh yes, you shall endure," Trelawney confirmed, her voice taking on a misty tone at the prospect of someone believing her, "But your husband... Wolves rise and fall at the turn of the moon."

"So what do you think of our fellow professors?" Rose asked, changing the subject somewhat awkwardly.

"None of them appreciate me," the older woman said with a sniff, "But Dumbledore sees my talent clear as day, and Dumbledore is the one that matters!"

Trelawney's earrings clicked together and her scarf slipped off one of her shoulders as she ranted, making Rose put in effort not to giggle.

"Do you often bicker with McGonagall like that?"

Trelawney's scowl deepened.

"She's not one to appreciate _true_ magic, but at least she's not as bad as that Severus Snape!"

Suddenly much more interested in the conversation, Rose turned to look at her sharply.

"Severus Snape works here?"

"Unfortunately," Trelawney groused, "He works as the potions master. I haven't the foggiest why Dumbledore keeps him on, I've never met a more unpleasant man in my life! He never appreciates my talents, the only thing he appreciates is his precious potions!"

The kettle whistled then, and both women jumped as the conversation was interrupted.

"You must let me look at your leaves, dear," Trelawney said as she poured, her voice losing the shrillness it had obtained at the topic of Severus Snape.

"Of course, Sybill," Rose agreed, rather glad for the change in topic.

The rest of the visit was actually quite pleasant. Though Trelawney was flighty and prone to dramatics she was a highly entertaining conversationalist, and Rose felt a sort of kinship by both being outcasts in the magical community. The visit was so pleasant, actually, that she felt no hesitation handing over her tea cup to Trelawney, and only saw the fault in her logic when Trelawney let out a horrible scream.

"What is it?" Rose yelled, almost flying out of her seat.

"My dear flower," Trelawney whispered, "You have... the Grim!"

"The Grim?" Rose questioned, grabbing the tea cup.

"An omen of death," Trelawney explained, clutching her hand over her heart, "In the form of a large black dog."

Slowly, filled with dread, Rose looked down at her teacup, and saw Sirius Black staring up at her.

"I think that I need to go now," Rose said rather breathlessly, "Thank you so much for the tea, it was lovely."

Before Trelawney could respond she hastily set the cup down and practically ran from the room.

She didn't stop running until she was all the way out of the tower and into the castle's main body, only stopping in an empty classroom when she felt her face start to wet with tears.

"What am I doing?" she asked the empty classroom. Just one glimpse at a dumb black dog made of tea leaves and she was worried that Sirius Black was coming after her.

God, she wished Remus was here. Of course he would probably be just as freaked out as she was, but at least they would be freaked out together.

She cried for a few more minutes, allowing herself a moment of weakness, and then took a deep breath.

"You're going to be okay, Rose," she told herself.

"I should certainly hope so," a new voice said to her left.

It took all of Rose's willpower not to scream.

"Hello," she said instead, looking at the ghost that had suddenly appeared with what she hoped was a pleasant expression.

"I suppose you're the new Muggle Studies professor," he said in a droning voice.

"I suppose I am," she replied, hastily wiping the tears from her eyes, "May I ask who you are?"

"Binns," he replied primly, "Cuthbert Binns, the History of Magic professor."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "No one told me you were..."

"Told you I was what, mi'lady?"

"Nevermind," she said quickly, not sure if bringing up someone's death status was considered rude, "It's very nice to meet you."

"You as well," he said with a little bow, "Would you like to come to my office for tea?"

Rose shivered at the thought of the black dog in her tea leaves.

"Oh, no thank you, I'm not much for tea, I'm afraid."

"Some cocoa, then," he pressed, "It is no good for you to sit in this classroom, there's a terrible draft."

Rose was honestly so tired that all she could do is nod.

Binns' office was fortunately right across the hall, and Binns disappeared for a moment before appearing with a cup of hot chocolate.

"Thank you," Rose said sincerely, accepting the cup, "I'm sorry we had to meet like this, I'm not typically such a mess."

"It is your first day at Hogwarts," Binns said with a wave of his pearly white hand, "I have been here for two hundred years, and I have never seen a professor who was not, as you say, a mess, on their first day."

"Really?" she asked, taking a sip of the hot chocolate, which was actually pretty good.

Binns nodded wisely.

"When I first started the Transfiguration professor at the time owned several nifflers. The night before my very first class the terrible things got loose and destroyed my notes, which I had written with a bottle of golden ink my mother had gotten for me on my birthday."

Smiling as Rose gave a laugh, Binns continued, "I had to start my first day with no notes or lesson plans, and I had to start my second day with a terrible hangover and no notes."

"Thanks," Rose said once she had finished laughing, "I needed that."

"Of course," he said graciously, "I never miss the opportunity to comfort beautiful women."

The rest of the visit was even more enjoyable than her tea with Trelawney; Binns proved to to funny, despite his droning voice, and even a little bit flirty. Rose was having such a good time that she only thought about leaving when Toffee appeared in the office with a crack.

"Dinner time, miss," she reported in her high, squeaky voice.

"Thank you, Toffee. It was lovely talking with you Professor Binns," Rose said, rising from her chair.

Binns waved his hand.

"Please, call me Cuthberth."

Rose acquiesced and Toffee ushered her out of the room.

Trelawney was absent from the dining hall, and so Rose made conversation with McGonagal while she picked at her food, a quiet sense of dread coming over her as the meal progressed as she thought of what was to come.

After the pudding was served Dumbledore rose from his seat and offered Rose his arm.

"I believe we have an engagement."

Rose gave a stretched smile and rose from her seat, sliding her hand in crook of his arm.

"I suppose we do."

It was time to talk about Sirius Black.


	9. Chapter 9

**Just outside of London, 1981**

It was raining. Of course, in London, it was always raining, but Sirius was endlessly frustrated with the weather regardless. The thunder storm didn't seem to lend itself to a joyful gathering, and he would be damned if the night was anything but joyful.

The Potter's little house smelled of pumpkin and pot roast, and though Remus, Peter, and James were jovially playing a game of exploding snap in the living room, Sirius and Lily were both frantically bustling around the kitchen, bumping elbows in an attempt to get the meal ready before Rose got there.

"I told you we should have done pasta," Sirius groused as he stirred the soup, "You can never go wrong with pasta."

"Whenever I make Italian food you criticize me until I end up yelling at you," Lily responded.

"You were going to use _store bought sauce,_ Lily, _store bought_ , I could hear my grandmother crying."

Lily opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.

"Hide the exploding snap!" Sirius hissed as he struggled to untie his apron.

There were sounds of general ruckus from the living room, and then the sound of the door opening before Rose's voice drifted into the living room.

"Remus! How lovely to see you again!"

Sirius finally managed to get his apron undone, and shot out of the kitchen.

"Rose!" he exclaimed, and when Remus let her out of a hug Sirius picked her up and twirled her around.

Rose laughed.

"Let me go, you'll wrinkle my dress!"

" We couldn't have that now, could we?" Sirius asked sarcastically, setting her down.

Rose made a face at him before turning to the rest of the Marauders.

"You must be James," she said, offering her hand to James, "Sirius has told me all about you, I feel sometimes like he's dating you instead of me."

Laughing, Lily said, "I've felt like that every day since we started dating. I'm Lily, it's nice to meet the girl Sirius is so gone on."

Rose blushed. "But surely you've already met James."

This was met by another round of laughter and Sirius thumped James on the back.

"And finally Peter," Rose said with another smile, "It's lovely to meet you. Were you cooking? Your eyebrow is a bit singed."

"Yeah," Peter answered lamely, shoving the deck of exploding snap deeper into his jeans pocket.

"Well there's no use standing about," Lily said, ushering them all toward the dining room, "I'm sure you're hungry, Merl- Lord knows these boys are."

Rose arched an eyebrow but didn't say anything about the slip, allowing herself to be herded toward the table.

"It smells delicious," Rose said, taking a seat after Sirius pulled out her chair, "Is that pumpkin?"

"Pumpkin soup," Sirius said with pride, puffing up his chest as he walked toward the kitchen, "I made it myself."

"What did you make, Peter?" she asked as Sirius and Lily started serving the soup.

"The dessert," he murmured with a blush.

" _You_ were the one that made the paneer laddu?" James asked with a smirk.

"Yes," Peter said, his blush getting worse as he sunk into his seat.

"I'm so glad you know so much about my culture," James snickered.

"I'm very well traveled," he replied, raising his burnt eyebrow as though challenging James to explain how else it was damaged.

Remus choked down a laugh on Rose's right side as Sirius took a seat on her left and passed her a roll.

"So," Rose said casually, tearing her bread in two and dipping it into her soup, "Are you all wizards, or is it just Sirius?"

The question was met with stunned silence. The rest of the Marauders' eyes darted toward Sirius, but he looked more shocked than anyone.

"Oh dear," she continued with a frown, "You're not all muggles, are you? That would be terribly embarrassing."

She looked expectantly around the table for a moment, but before she could say anything else James burst out laughing, his glasses sliding down his nose, "Oh, Padfoot, look at your fucking face!"

Lily began laughing then, then Remus, then Peter, and finally Rose, all of them guffawing at the expression on Sirius's face.

It took a while for Sirius to be able to use his voice again, but when he did all he could do was stutter.

"Wha... when... how..."

"My brother's a wizard," she said, taking pity on him, "A muggle-born. I've never had any magic myself, but he's told me enough that I know a bit about it. I saw your wand at the coffee shop that first day, that's how I knew. Sorry that I kept it from you, but honestly I thought you were going to be an asshole."

This statement prompted another round of laughter from James and more spluttering from Sirius.

"The first thing that you said to me was imply that I should sit on your face," she said with a smile, pausing for a second to allow for Remus's howling laughter to join James's, "Did you think I thought you were a saint? I thought you were hot, that's all, but I'm glad you proved me wrong."

"Proved you wrong that he was hot?" Peter said with a smirk, causing Remus and James to peel into laughter again.

"Proved me wrong that he would obliviate me when I told him I knew about magic," she countered, a little quieter.

Lily's smile slid off her face immediately, and the others sobered up as well.

"I would never obliviate you," Sirius said with an uncharacteristic intensity, "Never. I was going to tell you about magic tonight, after dinner."

Putting her hand on his arm, Rose smiled and said, "Thank you, Sirius, that means a lot to me."

The two shared a soft kiss at the table, seemingly unaware of the audience, before Rose smiled mischievously.

"So, now that that's out of the way, let's talk about how I told Sirius Jesus Christ was a popular actor in kung fu films."

Remus and Lily burst out laughing again, while Peter, James, and Sirius shared a confused look.

"Is he not?" Sirius asked, bewildered, prompting more laughter.

The rest of the night was filled with mirth, primarily at Sirius's expense, and Lily, Remus, and Rose took turns swapping stories about silly pureblood wizards who didn't know anything, mostly James, Sirius, and Peter.

Lily's pot roast was delicious, and Peter admitted that James made the paneer laddu by showing the case of exploding snap.

Once the meal was over they all retired to the living room to drink coffee and talk more.

The crescent moon was shining up above when Rose excused herself to smoke a cigarette, but it was Remus, not Sirius, who followed her out.

"Got an extra fag?" he asked, looking more at the moon than her.

"If you got a light," she asked with a sly smile.

Remus gave a chuckle and lit both his and her cigarettes with the end of his wand.

There was a moment of silence while they both took a drag, and then Remus said, "Does he know you're a werewolf?"

"Does he know you're in love with him?" she countered, raising an eyebrow.

"Is this where you call me a poof?" he asked, eyes looking down from the moon to rest on her face.

"No," she said with a sad twitch of her lips, "I understand the feeling. He's something else."

"How did you know?"

"The way you look at him," she responded, "It's the same way I do."

Remus nodded but didn't reply, taking another long drag from his cigarette.

"I'm not a werewolf," she told him quietly, flicking her cigarette.

"Bullshit," he said, "I can smell it on you."

"Can you _really_?" she asked.

He didn't say anything. She was right, the scent was _off_ somehow, not as strong, a little different.

"I was attacked by a werewolf when I lived in America. He pinned me down, scratched my chest..."

Her fingers played with the collar of her dress, revealing the start of four long scars.

"My brother got there just in time with a few of his friends," she continued, "It took all four of them to stun him, but he had... drooled into the wound. I don't change but I get... restless when the moon is full, and it takes more than one stunner to take me down. It's not too bad, to be honest, but one of my brother's friends leaked the story to the paper. It was sensationalized, _the muggle werewolf._ "

"That's why I know your name," he realized, "I saw an article on you when I vacationed in America."

"They burned my house down," she said with a break in her voice, "Some stupid, prejudiced wizards burned my fucking house down because they couldn't stand to know the _muggle werewolf_ lived in their neighborhood. I wasn't inside, me and my brother had gone to a party that night, but my _parents._ "

Here she broke off, flicking the cigarette on the ground and stamped it out under her heel.

"My mother died from smoke inhalation, but my father... he was burned to death. I was in the papers even more, people would send me mail saying I should have died with them... it was too much. Me and my brother moved to England only a month after the funeral."

"Fuck," Remus swore, putting out his own cigarette, "I'm sorry, Rose, that sounds terrible. I can't imagine being exposed like that."

"Do they know that you're a werewolf?" she asked, jerking her thumb back at the house.

"Since we were twelve," he admitted, "They're good blokes; always covered for me, treated me like I was human, they even call my issue my 'furry little problem.'"

Rose suddenly let out a laugh.

"So _that's_ what that is, I thought you just had a temperamental cat."

Remus started to laugh as well, and they both turned when the door opened.

"You two kids having fun without me?" Sirius asked, inserting himself in the middle by sliding an arm around each of their waists.

"Perish the thought," Remus dead panned.

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you, Moony," Sirius scolded, "but I'm glad to see you two are getting along."

"Tonight's been a lot of fun, " said Rose, leaning her head against her boyfriend's shoulder, "I like James and Peter a lot better than you two and Lily though."

"That would be fair if you hadn't included Lily," said Remus with a shrug.

"How is that fair?" Sirius protested with a grin, "I am the best looking and therefore the best in the group!"

"I don't have to strain my neck talking to James and Peter, whereas I am assuming you two and Lily all accidentally swallowed bottles of skele-grow when you were at Hogwarts."

"Oh, trust me, it was entirely on purpose," Sirius said with a smirk, "We just wanted to steal Wormtail's books and hold them over his head."

"Lily just wanted to look more intimidating after she became a prefect." Remus added.

Sirius chuckled before smiling softly, "Oh Merlin, I'm so glad this worked out so well. I was so afraid you wouldn't get along."

Remus smiled.

"We're bonding by taking the piss out of you."

"Better than not bonding at all," Sirius laughed.

The three turned when they heard the door open revealing a smiling Peter.

"This group hug is beautiful, but Lily's breaking out the fire whiskey."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Sirius said with a wink, giving both Remus and Rose a squeeze before going back into the house with Peter.

"Thanks for listening, Remus," Rose said softly, reaching out and giving his hand a squeeze.

"Thanks for not calling me a faggot," he replied with a smile.

Grinning, she hesitated for a moment before making a little howl.

A laugh burst out of Remus and he couldn't help but join in, though his sounded much more wolf-like.

The two shared one last smile, and then they went back in the house, the rest of the Marauders and a bottle of fire whiskey waiting to greet them.

 **aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa**

 **Author's note: Hope y'all have as much fun with this one as I did! I just want to write them having fun forever. In case you didn't get this from the content clues I headcannon James as Indian, with Lily being taller than him. Peter's blood status is a little iffy, and I can't find it anywhere. Every website I've gone on say half-blood _or_ pure-blood, so because his last name wasn't on the "list" that was on Pottermore I've headcannoned him as half-blood but with both parents being wizards, so he doesn't know much about muggles. Thanks so much for everyone who reviewed! Special thanks to Radio Free Death for the super detailed review and for keeping the criticism constructive! **


	10. Chapter 10

Though when she was with Binns and Trelawney the castle had seemed warm and welcoming, while walking with Dumbledore the hallways seemed to stretch infinitely and radiate cold.

The clack of both their shoes seemed like a death march, but Dumbledore was doing his best to keep the walk pleasant, pointing out different paintings and explaining the stories behind them.

"And that one is Uric the Oddball, it's not a great likeness, but they did capture the jellyfish he always wore on his head quite well. I'm pleased to note that I'm compared to him with a pleasant frequency."

"Lovely," Rose responded, unable to say anything else due to the rock that seemed to settle in her throat.

"And here we are, Mrs Lupin, pay close attention to the password."

They came to a stop in front of a stone gargoyle, and Rose tried not to be too startled when it twitched his nose and opened his eyes.

"Oh, hello Headmaster," the gargoyle said with a gravely voice, "How has your day been?"

"I am looking forward to the first of September," he responded, "Have you met the new Muggle Studies Professor?"

"I don't believe I have," the gargoyle said, turning his head toward Rose.

"Rose Lupin Hayworth, pleased to meet you," Rose stated.

"You as well. Password?"

"Pumpkin Pasties," Dumbledore replied.

The gargoyle nodded and moved aside, the sound of stone on stone grinding against Rose's ears.

"Be sure not to trip," the headmaster said with a chuckle as they stepped on the stairs.

Rose startled a little as the staircase began to move, but it was hard to find the humor in the situation when the image of Sirius Black hanging in her mind.

Dumbledore's office was just as intimidating as it was the night before when she arrived, full of magical objects that smoked, whirred, and whistled. If Remus was here it would have been exciting to poke and prod at all of them, but alone, in this situation, there was nothing she wanted to do more than to leave.

"Please, sit down," Dumbledore said with a wave of his hand toward a chair, "Would you care for a lemon drop?"

"Perhaps later," she replied, sitting down and crossing her ankles.

Dumbledore let out a sigh.

"I'm very sorry to be bringing this up, Marianne,"

"Rose, please," she automatically interrupted.

"Rose," he conceded, "As I was saying, this is not a subject that brings me joy, but the safety of this school is something I cannot compromise."

"Of course," she said, polite but shaken, "I'm sorry, but him escaping, it's just like... like twelve years ago all over again."

Dumbledore nodded, the twinkle in his eye no longer there.

"I don't mean to imply anything, but if you know anything of his plans, or-"

"I don't," she interrupted, "He hasn't tried to contact me at all. I've been looking for letters or floo powder but I haven't heard anything. He'll come here, though; he's nothing if not bold. I'm here, Remus is here, and... Harry."

She broke off, tears welling up in her eyes.

"He always loved Harry so much, I used to joke that even when we had children of our own he would still love Harry more. He was devoted to that little boy, it's just so hard to imagine that he's trying to-"

Rose gave a small sob, and Dumbledore kindly handed her a handkerchief.

"Forgive me for asking, but you never had any children, did you?"

Rose shook her head.

"I found out I was pregnant two days after he was thrown in Azkaban, but I couldn't _bear_ the thought of birthing his child. Even if I gave it up, just knowing that there would be a part of him out in the world... No, I got rid of it."

"He doesn't know?"

"There would be no way that he could. I went to a muggle doctor."

"Do you think he may try and come after you?"

"I don't know- He might not even know that I'm working here. If he does know, I'm still not sure. If he knows I'm here then he probably knows that Remus is, and Sirius wouldn't tangle with him, plus, I never tried to contact him once in twelve years, but... he did love me once, that I never doubted, and love makes people do strange things. Harry will be more important, I'm sure, but if he finds me on the way..."

"We will make sure Sirius Black never even reaches the castle," Dumbledore said, laying his hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner, "I hope that he will be caught before the term even starts."

"I have the same hope," she replied softly, looking off into the distance.

"Is there anything else you would like to tell me?" the headmaster asked, his eyes seeming to search her as though he could see into her soul.

"No," she said, eyes snapping back to his face, "Nothing."

Taking his hand off of her shoulder, Dumbledore gave a nod.

"Then I think I have taken up enough of your time. I hope you had a good first day."

"Thank you," she said with a ghost of a smile, "Have a good night."

She did not flee the office, but she certainly did not linger, as the eyes of the portraits of the headmasters seemed to follow her, and she even managed to find her way back to her quarters unaided.

After going into her rooms she practically collapsed on the couch in the little living room, and while she didn't cry she lay there in silence for almost an hour.

She should have told Dumbledore about Sirius being animagus, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, couldn't bring herself to say when the Grim in her teacup was still lingering in the front of her mind.

She hated Sirius, really _hated_ him, absolutely despised him for the things that he did, but... she still loved him, couldn't ever stop.

There were still mornings she would wake up and be surprised that it was Remus in her bed, days when she would say the word serious and half expect him to turn up with a joke, nights when she would accidentally cook Sirius's favorite dinner instead her husband's.

She loved Remus, loved him fiercely with every bone in her body, cared for him more than she cared for herself, but Sirius had been her first love, her first adventure into the wizarding world, her first husband. As much as she hated it, he would always be a part of her heart, and she couldn't bear to betray his one last secret.

Besides, it wasn't like he could escape dementors that way.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks so much everyone for reading and reviewing! Sorry this one was so short, but I felt it was important enough not to be combined with anything. Unfortunately, "The Weatherwitch" (cool name btw) I haven't come across any other Remus/OC/Sirius fics, which is part of the reason that I'm writing this, but there are some awesome Remus/Tonks/Sirius fics out there, especially on AO3. I've also seen some Remus/Hermione/Sirius fics, but haven't read any of them because I'm not a fan of the age difference. Sorry to "mbob4980" but I did mention polyamory twice in the description, so there will definitely be a "weird threeway relationship." I hope you continue to read though! I appreciate all my readers!**


	11. Chapter 11

After three hours of good conversation and a rousing rendition of "The Hippogriff Stole my Brandy" the little house grew quiet; James and Lily retiring upstairs, Peter falling asleep on the couch, and Remus slipping out the back door with the remaining firewhiskey.

"Back to my place?" Sirius asked, nipping at Rose's ear and wrapping an arm around her.

She looked at him in confusion, noses bumping from how close they were.

"I thought you said the pipes burst."

Sirius shrugged.

"Nah, it's just got too much magic there, didn't want to freak you out with it all at once. But since your brother's a wizard…" he trailed off, placing a kiss behind her ear.

"I won't run screaming from the room," she finished, leaning her head back to give him better access.

"Exactly," he murmured, kissing his way down her neck to bite at her shoulder, "You done side along apparition before?"

"Once or- oh! twice," she confirmed, squirming under his attentive mouth.

"Let's not waste more time then," he said, getting up off the floor and extending a hand.

She took it, squeezing tightly, and Sirius apparated out of the little house and into his flat ten miles away.

Rose wobbled slightly, clutching at her stomach, but seemed to recover fairly well, looking about in wonder.

To say Sirius's apartment had magic was like saying a grocery store had food. A cauldron was happily bubbling away in a corner, little drops of green splashing merrily, leaping out onto the old daily prophet Sirius had put down to protect the floor. Toads' eyes and bats' wings were scattered on the table, a couple of racing brooms were propped up in the corner, and every single picture moved.

Drawing pencils were sharpening themselves, Bertie Bott's every flavored beans were littered on the counter, a cracked foe glass hung on the wall, all the books on the shelf had magical titles, a pot of floo powder hung by the fire (which was burning blue), a few cloaks were draped over the couches, and a charmed paper airplane was flying around the ceiling.

"Oh, Sirius, it's-"

"I know it's a little messy," he said with a blush, "but I didn't think I would be bringing you over, and I had a test yesterday so I was studying instead of cleaning, and-"

She kissed him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt to yank him down to her level, lips demanding, standing on the tips of her toes.

"It's wonderful," she told him when she broke away, breathless and smiling, " _You're_ wonderful."

And then he was smiling, not the half cocked grin reserved for pretty girls or the devilish smirk used when planning a prank, but a real, authentic smile, all teeth and tongue, lips pulled up to wrinkle his eyes. In this moment, there was no war, no Voldemort, no family dragging down his shoulders. Just him, and her.

They kissed again, tasting of coffee and whiskey and lipstick, and lips gave way to teeth, gave way to tongue.

Hands roamed desperately, feeling leather, and denim, and skin. All their courtship, all their _lives,_ had lead to this, her hands pulling the band out of his hair, his hands skimming her shoulders as he took off her jacket.

His hair toppled out of it's bun, and he hoisted her up by the rear, picking her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

He started toward the bedroom, stopping twenty times to press her against the walls, lips hot and heavy, hands demanding and rough. She was anything, she was everything, she was finally _his._ Her blonde hair tousled, her pink nail polish chipped, her lipstick smeared.

Finally they made it to the bedroom, tumbling onto the bed in a mess of limbs and laughter, and Sirius ripped off his leather jacket, flinging it to the corner of the room, shivering as Rose's fingers made their way under his shirt.

Her nail dug into his nipple and he yelped, reaching down to bite her neck in retaliation.

Ripping off his shirt, he surged back down to attack her lips once more, fingers fumbling with the zipper of her dress before taking that off too, revealing tantalizing skin inch by inch. He was quick with the strapless bra, and then he was on her, biting around the outside of her breast, sucking on the nipple, hands kneading and pinching.

"Oh god, oh fuck, Sirius I-"

Rose's babbling filled the space of the room, bouncing off walls while she rutted against his leg.

Sirius responded by taking off her underwear, throwing it onto the floor and leaving her bare before him.

He brought his hands down to keep her thighs apart, and settled in between them.

"You remember how we first met?" he asked with a wicked grin, "I've thought of this since then."

Without giving her time to respond, he buried his face between her legs, licking a long stripe up her cunt.

She screamed.

Emboldened by her vocalizations, he nipped and licked, sucked and nuzzled, panting like a dog.

She moved against him for what felt like hours, one hand in his hair and one hand on her breast, eyes closed, rolling her hips into his waiting mouth.

"God, Sirius… I-oh!"

She shattered against him, back arching, breathing his name.

After taking a moment to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand, he crawled back up the bed, marveling at the look of her in the moonlight.

"Surely you're a dream," he murmured, hand coming up to stroke her hair.

She smiled at him, pink lipstick smeared and eyeshadow a mess, but beautiful, oh so beautiful.

"A dream?" she asked, "I assure you I am quite real."

"A siren then, or a veela. Perhaps a drop of sunshine."

"You've caught me," she said with a breathless laugh, "I'm a sunbeam."

"Knew it," he said with a wink.

"Next you'll be saying you're a wizard," she said conspiratorially.

"Don't worry," he replied, "Magic isn't real."

She laughed and Sirius kissed the laughter from her mouth, rolling on top of her and working a hand between her thighs.

She was slick from her orgasm, and Sirius worked two fingers in without much difficulty, swallowing her breath when she gasped.

"You're beautiful, sunshine," he murmured against her mouth, working in a third finger and kissing her again before she could respond.

After he was sure she was ready, he positioned himself against her and slowly sank in, moaning at the wet heat that enveloped him.

"Rose," he groaned, almost lost in the feel of her.

"Sirius, if you don't move I swear to god-"

She never got to finish her sentence, as Sirius pulled almost all the way back out and slammed in, setting up an almost punishing pace.

"Oh, god, oh, oh, fuck-" Rose gasped, toes curling and eyes closing.

"Look at me," Sirius begged, a hand coming up to grab her face, "I want to see you, sunshine."

Flying open, her eyes locked onto his, brown eyes meeting grey.

They lost themselves in each other for what felt like forever, Sirius's mouth eventually falling to decorate her neck with love-bites, and Rose scratching her nails down his back, just doing her best to hang on.

"Oh, god, oh fuck, Sirius I think I'm gonna-"

She came, stronger than she ever had before, hips spasming as she let out a breathless scream.

And Sirius followed her, as he would follow her through anything, releasing himself inside her and practically collapsing.

"Holy fuck," he mumbled into her neck.

"I concur," she agreed, sounding somewhat delirious.

After a few moments to breathe, Sirius pulled out and rolled off of her, leaving her feeling empty, but like she could breathe again.

"Sleep?" he asked, words already slurred.

Rose nodded, curling up to his side and dropping her eyes closed, falling asleep with a smile on her face.

########

They slept like children, quietly and soundly, and when Sirius awoke Rose was no longer there.

He stretched, fingers scraping the headboard and toes curling, and then threw off the blankets, getting out of bed.

Scrounging some boxers off the floor, he put them on and headed for the kitchen, following the scent of coffee and bacon to its source.

"British bacon is all wrong, you know," Rose said, hearing his footsteps but not taking her eyes away from the skillet, "It's much too thick, not nearly crispy enough."

She was, from Sirius's perspective, quite wrong of course, but he couldn't bring himself to argue. Instead he found tears pricking his eyes, and a rock coming up to settle in his throat.

This was it. Marianne Rose Hayworth standing in his kitchen, in nothing but socks and one of his old t-shirts. This was what he wanted in life. Fuck the war, fuck Voldemort, fuck his stupid family. Every ounce of pureblood blood in the world was worth nothing compared to Rose complaining about bacon and wearing his socks. He could finally see why James had taken muggle studies, had spent sleepless nights reading Lily's favorite muggle books. Sirius wanted to know everything about her, her parents, her brother, the house she grew up in, her favorite movies, her favorite subject in school.

"Sirius?" she questioned when he didn't respond, turning her head to look back at him.

"I love you," he blurted out.

"What?" she asked, eyes wide and lips pulled up into half an incredulous smile.

"I love you, I'm in love with you. I know it's only been a few months, but I'm really serious- ha, serious, wait, I'm sorry- I just... I love you. I love you so much I feel like someone put an engorging charm on my heart, and I can't think of a single thing I would rather do than be here with you."

Rose remained silent, opening and shutting her mouth a few times like a fish out of water.

"Rose? Sunshine? Say something!"

"Remus," she said, thoroughly baffling Sirius.

"What? What about him?"

"He's a werewolf and you still love him."

"Yeah, he's one of my best… wait… how did you-"

"I'm not a werewolf."

"Glad to hear it, care to tell me what's going on?"

"You know the scars I have? The ones on my chest?"

"Yeah, I saw them last night. Rose… Is there something you want to tell me?"

She had been so strong when Remus had confronted her, her voice not even wavering, but in front of Sirius, knowing that he loved her and fearing that it would be taken away, she could only break down and cry.

"Merlin, Rose, come here."

He enveloped her in his arms, tucking her head against his chest and leaning down to kiss her mop of blonde hair.

In between tears she choked out the story, about the werewolf, about the newspaper, about the fire, crying through it all as the bacon sizzled and burnt behind her.

Sirius, for once in his life, was completely silent, doing nothing but slowly rocking her back and forth, squeezing her a little too tight when she talked about the attack, when she talked about her parents dying.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Rose, you didn't deserve any of it," he finally said when she was finished.

She sniffed, looking up at him with tears still in her eyes, her lip quivering.

"What do you think?" she asked, looking more afraid than Sirius had ever seen her.

"What do I think?" he parroted, "What do I think about what?"

"Do you still love me? After everything I said?"

The speed at which Sirius's eyebrows shot up his forehead would have been comical if the situation hadn't been so serious.

"Do I still- Merlin, Rose, yes… yes!"

Since she was already in his arms, it was easy for him to lean down and kiss her, and she eagerly responded. He tried to pour all his emotions, all his love into the kiss, as if the breath that ran from his mouth to hers could carry his thoughts in a message.

"I love you," she told him as they broke apart, the words on her lips before she even opened her eyes, "Sirius Black, god help me, I love you."

He laughed, smiling so wide he thought his face would split in two, and teased, "You're gonna regret that someday."

###############

 **Author's note: Sorry I went so long without updating! Thanks to lilrilakkuma for pming me and getting my ass in gear! Hope y'all like the sex scene, I've never published one before so hopefully it's good!**


	12. Chapter 12

Another day, another morning, and Rose again woke up with cold toes and an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

Toffee escorted her to breakfast just as she had yesterday, and Rose despondently pushed potatoes around on her plate while avoiding Dumbledore's gaze, the conversation that she had with the headmaster the previous night still burning in her mind.

While Hogwarts had been intimidating the day before, the knowledge that Sirius could be making his way toward her only served to heighten her nerves. Just the fact that Dumbledore suspected her was unsettling. If he thought that she might have some knowledge into her first husband's plans, what would others think? How many of the other teachers knew her history? How many of them thought that she had helped with the the escape?

Snape, in particular, worried her.

Sirius had told her what he had done to Snape while they had been kids, laughing with his devil-may-care attitude and telling her that James had over-reacted. They had gotten into a horrible fight about that, her shocked and appalled that he would be so callus to Remus when her life had been ruined by the mere rumor that she was a werewolf.

Remus, surprisingly, had been the one to come to Sirius's defense, saying that Snape was nothing more than a horrid racist who deserved everything he got. But surely Dumbledore wouldn't hire such a man to teach children?

Toffee again lead Rose to her classroom, and Rose was pleased to see that she mostly remembered how to get there. She suspected that she would be able to find her own way in a few days, eliminating the need to be shown around like a child.

She worked on her lesson plans all day and took lunch in her office, unwilling to face the other professors or to hear McGonagall and Trelawny fight again.

Dinner rolled around and she walked with heavy feet along side Toffee to the great hall, thankful that tomorrow's dinner would take place at Hope's house, involving cake and absolutely zero work colleges.

Well, except for Remus, but he didn't really count.

Walking into the great hall, she was surprised by two new faces, an older plump woman sitting on McGonagall's left, and an extremely short man sitting on a stack of books sitting by Dumbledore.

"Hello!" She greeted as she sat down, "I'm Rose, the new muggle studies professor."

"Excellent, excellent!" The little man enthused, "I'm Filius Flitwick, it's so wonderful to meet you!"

"And I'm Sprout," the woman introduced, leaning over McGonagall to shake Rose's hand, "Pomona Sprout. I'm head of Hufflepuff, and Filius is head of Ravenclaw."

"Wit beyond measure!" Flitwick quoted, waggling a finger in the air.

"Pleased to meet you both," Rose said with a smile, loading mashed potatoes on her plate, "Who are the heads of Gryffindor and Slytherin?"

"I'm the head of Gryffindor," McGonagall informed her proudly, then, with a sniff, she continued, "Severus is the head of Slytherin."

Rose attempted to look only politely interested in the knowledge, swallowing back her questions with a spoonful of peas.

If Remus and Sirius were to be believed, Snape was a wholly unpleasant person with no tolerance for fools or anyone of impure blood, but to be a teacher of children, and a head of house to top it off, he would have to teach children of varying levels of purity and foolishness.

But then again, she hadn't talked about Snape for twelve years, it would be impossible to not change in that time, and perhaps she was remembering the name wrong anyway.

She chatted idly with the professors, all of them eager to give advice to a new teacher, and when she went back to her room afterward, the feeling of unease she had woken up with had been soothed.

The next morning she awoke in a better mood, and, like a child right after a sleepover, she was glad to be going home. Though she was still spending the morning at Hogwarts, she would be flooing to Hope's after lunch, where she would spend the night.

It had only been two days since she had last seen Remus, but it felt like a lifetime, especially because she had been surrounded by unfamiliar magic the whole time.

Dressing quickly, she had enough time to make herself a cup of tea before Toffee showed up.

"Good morning Toffee!" She greeted with a smile.

"Good morning, Miss!" The elf squeaked, giving a curtsy so low that Rose was afraid that she would topple over, "You seems happy today, Miss, yes you do's!"

"It's a happy day, Toffee, I have the afternoon off! Do you want any tea?"

The elf's scandalized face implied that she did not, in fact, want tea.

"Humans do not… Miss you shouldn't… You should not offer house elves food, no you shouldn't, we offers the Wizards food, yes we does."

"I'm not a wizard," she clarified, "but I won't offer you anything if it makes you uncomfortable."

Toffee pulled a pained face, as though Rose's ignorance of the wizarding world physically hurt her, but composed herself quickly, leading Rose out into the hallway and toward the great hall.

"Do you have other duties, Toffee?" Rose asked as they walked, curious as to what the elf was doing when not acting as her babysitter.

"Oh yes," she squeaked with pride, "I cleans your classroom and Master Lupin's classroom, and when I is done I helps out in the kitchen! I have been here all my life, so I oversees the food!"

"Do you like working in the kitchen?"

"Of course, Miss, I is very good."

"Glad to hear it," Rose replied, smiling at the elf before saying: "I'd like to lead myself around after breakfast if you don't mind. I'm hoping it will stick to my memory better if I don't have someone leading me."

Rose had worried that the elf would take offense, but Toffee just smiled.

"Of course, of course! Just call if you needs me, Miss!"

"Oh, I'm sure I will," Rose said with a laugh.

Breakfast was uneventful, and so was the rest of her morning, but even though she was jittery about leaving, she was glad she had stayed for lunch when she walked in to see a man ten times her size sitting at the table.

"Hagrid!"

Rubeus Hagrid looked up with a start, a smile spreading across his face as he stood, bumping the table and knocking his massive chair over.

"Rose! Why I never. It's mighty good to see ya!"

He strode toward her and she met him in the middle, giving him a hug and being enveloped in his arms.

She had met Hagrid during the war, when Sirius and Remus had both been in the Order of the Phoenix. James and Lily and Peter had been members too, but it hurt to think about that.

"How are ya, how are ya?" Hagrid asked, thumping her on the back and knocking the breath out of her.

"Good," she wheezed, giving him a smile when he released her, "And you?"

Hagrid beamed and puffed his chest out, obviously proud about something.

"I'm the new Care of Magical Creature's professor! Me! A professor! Can you believe it?"

"That's wonderful!" She said, still trying to catch her breath, "I suppose we'll see each other in the teacher's lounge."

"Teacher's lounge? Blimey, are you teachin'?"

"Yep!" She confirmed with a smile, "Muggle Studies."

"Suppose tha' makes sense," he said, furrowing his brow before nodding to himself.

They took their seats, and it was only then that Rose noticed two more additions to their table.

An older woman with graying black hair and harsh lines on her face was sitting next to another woman, not much older than Rose, with brown hair and lovely dark brown skin.

"Hello," Rose greeted, sitting opposite them, "I'm Rose Hayworth, nice to meet you."

"Septuma Vector," the older woman said, reaching across the table to shake hands, "I teach Arithmancy."

"I'm Aurora Sinistra," the other introduced, choosing to wave instead, "I'm the astronomy professor. It's good to see another witch on staff."

"Oh, I'm not a witch," she corrected, loading chicken onto her plate, "I'm a muggle."

"Oh!" Sinistra replied, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize. It does certainly make you qualified for the position though, doesn't it?"

"Rose has the privilege of being the first ever muggle employed at Hogwarts," Dumbledore interjected, looking pleased.

"I don't mean to offend you," Vector started, looking as though she didn't care if she offended Rose, "But how on earth have you not been obliviated? Are you a squib?"

"I'm married to a wizard," Rose explained, knuckles going white as she gripped her fork, "Remus Lupin actually, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

"Oh, I went to school with Lupin!" Sinistra exclaimed, "We were potions partners once. He was so charming, always hanging out with Potter and-"

She came to an abrupt halt, but even though she hadn't said the name, Sirius Black came to the forefront of everyone's minds.

The table was silent for a minute, no one even daring to scrape their silverware against their plates, when Vector asked: "Did you know him? Did you know Black?"

"Septuma!" McGonagall admonished, though she grew silent when Rose raised her hand.

"It's all right," Rose assured, "It was going to come out eventually. It was through him I was introduced to Remus; Sirius was my first husband."

Sinistra made a quiet gasp and Flitwick let go of his fork, the utensil clattering loudly on the golden plates.

"Apologies, Apologies!" Flitwick squeaked, clambering down from the books he had been seated on to retrieve it from the floor.

The corner of Rose's mouth turned up in an absentminded smile at the Charms teacher, but when she spoke, she spoke softly.

"I never… I never knew, never even had an inkling. Whether that makes me a good wife or a bad one I'm not sure but…. I know he's out, believe me I'm as terrified as you, perhaps more so, but you don't have to worry about me, or about Remus. We're just trying to live a quiet life, it's all we ever try to do. Though, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell the students."

"Of course we wouldn't tell the students," Vector promised, speaking as though it was obvious, "Hooligans the lot of them, they wouldn't know how to handle themselves."

"You poor dear," Professor Sprout said, "I can't imagine how horrible this is for you."

Sinistra reached across the table to pat Rose's hand sympathetically.

"No one could possibly have known," McGonagall agreed quietly, "I was his head of house for seven years, far longer than you were married, and I never dreamed he would have been capable of… Well, of what he did."

"He talked of you quite fondly, Minerva, if that means anything," she comforted, "All the Marauders did."

"Marauders," Dumbledore said with a chuckle, "Now that's a name I haven't heard in some time. Do any of you remember when they enchanted the ceiling to snow one Christmas?"

"The work of your Remus, I should think," Hagrid said with a grin, waggling a finger at Rose.

And just like that the somber mood was broken, and the professors were all laughing and talking about the pranks students had pulled over the years, bringing up the Marauders and the Weasley twins more than once.

Lunch passed quickly with laughter, and soon Rose was standing in Hope Lupin's fireplace, brushing soot off her dress.

"Mrs. Lupin!" Hope greeted when she saw her daughter-in-law, holding out her arms for a hug.

"Mrs. Lupin," Rose replied with a smile, dropping her overnight bag on the hearth and hugging the older woman back.

Hope Lupin was in her muggle in mid-sixties, and though she had a few more wrinkles than she should due to her stress over her son's condition, she was still a happy woman, and though Remus more favored his father in looks, his smile and gentle nature he had gotten from her.

"Let us have a look at you," Hope said when they pulled apart, putting her hands on Rose's shoulders and stepping away, "Why, you look wonderful! Have they been feeding you well at that school?"

"More than enough," Rose answered with a smile, "Hogwarts is fantastic, I wish you could see it!"

"Oh, I don't know about that," Hope said, laughing, "I'd take a wrong turn and run into a dragon!"

Even though Hope had always loved her husband and son unconditionally, she had never quite carried a love for magic, especially after Remus had been bitten.

"Go ahead and put your stuff upstairs dear, I'm still working on the cake," Hope told Rose.

"The cake?" Rose exclaimed with a laugh, "Hope, it's _your_ birthday, we should be the ones cooking."

"We both know my son couldn't cook if his life depended on it," she said with a wave of her hand, "and no offense dear, but you never make the frosting quite right."

Rolling her eyes good naturedly, Rose stood on her toes to give Hope a kiss on the cheek, and then headed upstairs with her bag.

After Lyall had died Hope had moved to a little two story farmhouse in the countryside. It was old, and there was a draft in the winter, but Remus always warded the house with heating spells, and, most importantly, there was an old potato cellar under the house that was perfect for Remus's transformations.

Rose set down her bag and took a moment to admire the view out the window.

Remus was in the back yard, chopping wood shirtless, his braces hanging around his waist, muscles shifting enticingly with each swing of the axe. He was too skinny to be comfortable, with every rib showing, and scars ripped across every inch of his skin, but Rose's heart still skipped a beat at the sight of her husband, even after ten years.

Smiling, she pulled open the window and leaned out, whistling a catcall.

Remus looked up at the sound of the whistle, a smile breaking across his face when he saw his wife.

"I am more than a hunk of meat you know," he called up with playful admonishment.

"Not to me you aren't!" She yelled back with a grin.

"Jump down!" He encouraged, arms outstretched as if to catch her.

"Are you crazy?" She asked, already bracing herself to jump.

"Only for you," he answered back with a laugh, pulling his wand out of his back pocket and charming her.

She jumped out of the window and slowly floated down, giggling, giving time for Remus to stow his wand back in his pocket and reach out for her.

She landed gently in his arms and he spun her around before setting her on the ground.

"Every time I see you you get more beautiful," he murmured reverently, bringing his hands to either side of his face.

She smiled mischievously and told him, "And every time I see you your nose gets bigger."

He laughed, the gap between his front teeth showing before he leaned down to kiss her, tilting his head so that his (admittedly big) nose didn't bump hers.

"I've missed you so much," she told him when he pulled away, soothing her thumbs over the bare skin of his arms, "I've been terrified without you."

"Is it really that bad?" He asked sharply, instantly concerned, "Have you felt unsafe? Has someone threatened you? Have you told Dumbledore? Is-"

"Remus, Remus, calm down, honey, I'm fine. All the other professors have been wonderful, it's just… I'm the only one in the castle without magic, the only person there who hasn't grown up in the wizarding world, who didn't go to school there. It's just… Magic is more fun when I know you've got my back."

"Always," he promised, "I'll never let a thing happen to you love, I'll always be there for you. I'll pack my things tonight, I'm sure Dumbledore will understand if I come early-"

"No, no," she protested, "I can't have you come running everytime I cry, I'll never learn to do a thing for myself. Besides," she reached up to kiss one of the bags under his eyes, "The full moon's in two days, you're not well enough to come with me. You've told me before the transformations are better when you're at home."

He sighed, looking every bit as weary as he felt, and her heart was filled, as it often was, with sorrow that such a wonderful man should have to carry such a horrible burden.

"Are you sure?" He asked, giving her one last chance.

"Positive," she confirmed, "Now let's get you inside and put some clothes on you."

Remus leaned down to give her another peck and then let her go, holding the firewood in one arm and putting his other arm around her as they walked toward the house.

"You know your mother is making her own birthday cake?" Rose asked with a smile, leaning into her husband's side.

Remus laughed.

"That does sound like her."

While Hope did make her own cake, Rose insisted on cooking the rest of the meal, and after eating, gift giving, and a loud rendition of "Happy Birthday," the three Lupins retired upstairs, Hope going to her room and Remus and Rose going to theirs.

"Everything all right, love?" Remus asked when he came back from the bathroom to find Rose sitting on the bed staring off into space.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she said with a wave of her hand.

Remus wasn't convinced, but he went about his business, knowing she would tell him if it was important.

"Do you remember Severus Snape?" She asked suddenly, looking over at him.

He paused with his shirt halfway off, surprised by the question, before resuming undressing.

"Merlin, I haven't thought about him in years. Why do you ask?"

"He's the potions professor at Hogwarts," she informed him, "And head of Slytherin house. Didn't you say he was a racist?"

"A professor?" Remus repeated, shaking his head in confusion, "Are you sure it's Snape?"

"It's not exactly a common name, Remus," she said with playful exasperation.

"Yes, he was a racist. When we were at school, anyway. He called Lily a… A you-know-what. He was a death eater for a time, but Dumbledore testified for him, said he was a double agent. There was a piece about it in the Prophet. I suppose he also gave him a job."

"Oh, it's good to know he was on our side, I was concerned."

"Rose…" Remus started, trousers unbuttoned but still gripped in his hands, "Is he at Hogwarts yet?"

"No," she said with a shake of her head, "It's why I asked about him, I haven't met him yet."

"I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't hire anyone he didn't trust," Remus began, slowly stepping out of his trousers, "And I don't think it's fair to judge him on the way he was at school, but I would prefer it if you weren't alone with him; he used to be very outspoken about his hatred of muggles, and I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Remus," she asked as he slipped on his pajama bottoms, "If he's the potion master, won't he be making your potions?"

"I suppose so," he answered, biting his lip, "but again, I don't think Dumbledore would hire someone he didn't trust."

Rose nodded, trusting her husband's judgement, and slipped under the blankets, holding up the corner so Remus could do the same.

They lay in silence for a second, Remus on his back and Rose's head on his chest, before Rose asked another question.

"Wasn't he the one that Sirius tried to lure to the shrieking shack?"

Remus took a deep inhale, jostling his wife slightly.

"What Sirius did was a horrible thing, he not only betrayed _me_ by telling Snape about me, but he endangered the life of a human being for sport. Even though Snape had said some terrible things he was still just a child, and didn't deserve to have his life be played with like that."

Rose propped her chin up on her husband's chest, squinting to see him in the dark.

"I'm surprised to hear you say that, last time we talked about this you couldn't wait to jump to Sirius's defense."

She felt his body stiffen underneath her.

"The last time we talked about this I was still madly in love with him and had zero sense of self worth. I didn't agree with him, but I was willing to put myself down to… I don't know, impress him? It didn't make sense, but… You remember what loving him was like."

She did. Remembered the spark in her stomach when her eyes caught his, the constant feeling of falling, of chasing, willing to do anything for a moment by his side. He was like fire, his touch burning, his kiss scorching, his love an open flame. Despite everything he had done, all the lives he had destroyed, there was still not a day that went by that she did not miss him.

Remus was steady and calm and she loved him, loved him truly and loved him madly, but he was waves lapping softly on the shore while Sirius had been a storm.

"Sometimes I forget, that you loved him just as much as I did," she confessed, laying her head back down on his chest.

"I wish I could forget it," he told her, "It would make it easier. Do you know I…" He trailed off for a moment, but picked back up when Rose pressed a kiss over his heart, "As much as I hate him, as much as I would kill him if I could, I'm glad that he's escaped? Death I would wish upon him easily, but the dementors… He was my friend once, and I'm glad he could have these days where he was free of them. I hope they kill him when they find him, to spare him from going back."

Bringing her arm to clutch him closer, Rose let out a shaky breath.

"I didn't tell Dumbledore about Sirius being an animagus," she said softly, "I couldn't bring myself to do it. Sirius has taken so much from me, so much from _us,_ but that one little thing I couldn't do. I _hate_ him, hate him so much but I-"

She broke off with a sob, the breath choking in her throat as Remus brought his arms to wrap around her.

"It's all right, lovely, it's all right," he soothed, bringing a hand up to stroke her hair.

"I love you so much, Remus," she sobbed, "You're everything, _everything_ to me, I could never live without you, I'm so glad to be your wife."

She continued to cry for a while, Remus soothing her the whole time, but eventually quieted down.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I'm a mess. You must be exhausted, you shouldn't have to deal with me the night before the full moon."

"Rose," he said, and from his tone of voice she could tell he was serious, "You are not a mess, I always want to deal with you, full moon be damned, and I am also, very, very glad that I'm your husband."

She laughed, watery but genuine, and said, "I'm glad you're my husband too."

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Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews! Let me tell you there's nothing more rewarding than reading a review and knowing the effort I put into this was worth it! As to LunaWolfSunTigeress15's question, yes there will be Sirius/Remus slash also! I'm most likely going to do a flashback chapter after this, but after that will be the first day at Hogwarts. Harry and Snape will make their appearances, and we'll see how Remus and Rose are settling into their new jobs!


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